A Hard Place to Fall
by gryffen1
Summary: Corporal Freya Cameron has just joined the FBI, her history is shrouded in mystery and with her new role in White Collar - what could happen on a clean break from her past? As she learns the ropes, she falls in love and deals with issues that shock her friends and put everyone in danger as her past is exploited by old enemies of the WC team. My OC, pls R&R - no infringment intend.
1. Chapter 1

**A Hard Place to Fall**

I stood in front of my mirror in my living room and smoothed down my shirt and jacket, I was nervous as hell and had no idea what I was getting involved in during my first day at work. I clocked the time and grabbed my bag from the chair and secured my firearm in my holster and secured my ID and badge onto my belt as I locked the main door and headed down to my car outside. I had just moved to New York and found I was loving the place even though I had never lived in a city before, the gardens and parks were really going to be my stress out zones during my new life and I was thankful my apartment had a roof garden where I could de-stress after work. Twenty minutes later I found the right car park and managed to get parked in the multi-story connected to the office, another ten minutes before I got through the main door and straight through to security to check in. I handed over all my IDs required and they called up to the main office to alert them of my appearance and to ensure that someone was there from HR so I could sign the documents in presence to start my new role.

A few minutes later I got off on the twentieth floor and headed through the glass doors, the office was open plan apart from the senior agents and a woman from HR met me at the main desk, it was still very early and the place was just getting ready for the shift change; I felt the eyes of some agents on me – probably wondering who the hell I am?

"Corporal Cameron?" a voice called gently.

I turned around and was faced by the Director of the FBI again, I smiled and shook his hand as he introduced the lady from HR and invited us into his office to get the formal part of the meeting completed so he could introduce my new boss and team to their newest recruit. An hour later and everything was completed and my new file was sitting proudly completed on the table, I was now a full FBI agent and smiled as the director congratulated me on making the move from Scotland to New York in under a month's notice. He stood up when he saw a couple of men enter the office downstairs and by instinct I stood up to, being military himself, he clocked me move and waved me back down onto the chair as he went to speak to them for a moment, he then waved me through and I moved silently behind the two men who started slightly as the director introduced me.

"Neal Caffrey, Senior Agent Peter Burke, I would like you to meet the newest member of the White Collar Division; she has just moved 7000 miles to join us and I will let her fill in any questions you may have. Corporal, be gentle please?" he said winking to me.

I nodded to him and smiled, hiding a laugh under a gentle cough.

"Corporal, you look pretty young for a rank of Corporal – where do you hail from?"

"A little town in the highlands of Scotland, and you should know better than that to ask a lady her age when you first meet her?" I replied grinning.

Both men looked at me and burst out laughing as I grinned at their expressions, the accent it always throws people when they don't expect it!

"My wife said something similar when I first met her, still haven't learned 12 years later apparently! Please come have a seat and we can do some catch up!"

I winked and joined them for a seat and grinned as he handed me a mug of coffee.

"So tell us a little about yourself, I don't even know your name yet?" Peter asked.

"My name is Freya Cameron, I'm 30 years old and I am from Mullin, I have no family and have just been discharged from the regular army after twelve year's; I was recruited by a head hunter and after the evaluations I was hired by the director. Eager to learn and develop my skills I have gained during my time with the military and put them to good use in law enforcement – I just hope everyone can understand me?" I replied.

"What did you do in the military, or am I allowed to ask?" Neal inquired.

"I was a member of the medical core, based in Afghanistan main hospital, I organised triage and all training for the local population and served as required on active patrol as medic and rescue care." I replied.

Both men looked at each other and I knew I had their immediate respect, but they were dying to ask me another question and I knew immediately they were trying to figure out how to ask it politely.

"Before you give yourself a migraine walking on the egg shells, I was cleared by the military and FBI panels with full jurisdiction and clearance for work in the city!"

"Are you fully discharged, just in case a recall?" Peter inquired.

"From the UK forces yes, but I have been offered a reserve spot on the NG medic unit in NYC" I replied passing the letter.

The office door opened and in walked the rest of the team that Peter led, I flashed a smile to Neal who was looking at me and stood up to introduce myself and greet my new team. I was the only female of this unit which was fine for me, and I knew after talking to the group for an hour or so that I was going to love it here.


	2. Chapter 2

**Three months later**

I was in the gym in the basement beating the crap out of the boxing bag that had the audacity to swing back towards me for more punishment, I was hitting it hard and I had a few stares from other gym users as I unleashed hell on the poor thing. I was angry and tired, the insomnia I had for the past week was driving me nuts and I had tried everything known to mankind to get myself to sleep – well apart from one thing and that would take getting either a boyfriend or a one night stand, something I wouldn't do – hell couldn't do since I had never had a boyfriend before – another embarrassing secret discovered by a friend in the legal department and one she ribbed me about as she tried to set up a date for me.

"Frey – take it easy on the bag or I'm going to have to put it under protective custody!" shouted a voice over the music.

I turned around and frowned as the boss walked in and got the room cleared, he didn't look too happy and I knew we had a case that was troubling him; problem was that I was needed for the case and I was seemingly troubling him too. Every morning he found me in here beating the crap out of the bag and driving myself to the point of physical pain to get my stress out; he didn't like it and apparently had enough. He walked over to me and pulled the bag off the hook and dropped it onto the floor as he threw me the towel and my water bottle – he was pissed as he watched me lean over to catch my breath.

"Are you going to tell me what the problem is Freya, every morning I get a call from the gym owner to say you're down here scaring the other gym users and that the FBI is owing him a new gym bag at this rate. Is there something you aren't telling me, whatever it is maybe I can help?" he whispered.

"I'm fine boss just a little stressed – big city, loud noises and a little trouble sleeping; nothing I can't handle. Has it interfered in my work or performance?" I replied.

He shook his head but walked a little closer.

"If something is wrong you can come to me or any of the team, we can help if you need it – no questions asked – family back up alright!"

I nodded and headed to the showers to get washed up and dressed for work as I noticed the time was cutting close to 7am; I saluted in his direction and ran down the stairs to the locker room and nearly hyperventilated in the mixed locker room as the flashes kicked in again. I bit down on my towel and bit back the vomit in my throat, I took a deep breath and grabbed my kitbag and headed for the shower.

I didn't notice that Neal had witnessed the minor meltdown and was staring at me as I walked into the showers and out of sight; he picked up his phone and typed out a quick message as he pulled on his suit jacket and left the room.

A while later I was sitting at my desk looking through evidence and records of past files so I could still play catch up with recent events, it was a massive undertaking but a fresh pair of eyes on the documents never hurt anyone and had led to new leads in the past couple of cases we managed to get convictions for. A travel mug of coffee was placed on the end of my desk and I looked up and smiled as Neal sat down opposite me and grinned as he handed me a biscuit from the bakery around the corner; I grabbed one and put away the file so I could hand him a napkin from my drawer and lean back and enjoy the coffee.

"Hey, any new leads discovered or still at an impasse?" he inquired.

"Well in all honesty I would have shot the bugger a long time ago for causing me this many problems, I salute your temper control when you were working with him!" I replied honestly.

He looked at me and burst out laughing, this case was about an old acquaintance of Neal's called Matthew Keller and he was seriously pissing people off and had recently tried to blackmail the FBI into releasing him from jail for information; that was quickly squashed and he had been moved back to SM in Barkley – he wasn't pleased and it was us who had to clean up his mess with the Insurance Investigators and the OPR. Neal continued to look at me and then my hands which were all scraped and red from using the punching bag, he also noticed the deep scar across my wrist and I instinctively pulled down my sleeve and looked away; he coughed gently and I thanked him for the coffee and headed to the ladies with him watching my every move as I walked out the office.

I calmly walked into the ladies and closed the door quickly once it was empty, my hands were shaking and I splashed water on my face to cool myself off and get myself under control again; these flashbacks were getting worse and triggered by the slightest reminder of that day – what the hell was going on? I had this under control and passed the evaluation board the FBI put me through – I didn't need my meds anymore – why now? Well I knew why to be fairly honest, two days until the anniversary and I was a wreck as I hadn't taken time off in the last three months to settle into the apartment, hadn't even bought furniture yet and was living on the roof garden when I needed too.

A sharp knock on the door and I quickly dried my face and had a few deep breaths before unlocking the door and apologising, blaming a broken bra strap – she nodded and laughed and told me there was an emergency repair kit in the bottom drawer in the kitchen – I nodded and thanked her before heading to the office again. I noticed Neal and Peter talking within the closed office room and I also saw Peter glance at me then say something quick to Neal – what were they talking about, had I said or done something?

Neal was sitting in the room trying to explain what he had seen in the locker room and my behaviour when he saw my wrist, he knew the signs of self-harm and had noticed changes in my behaviour, that were very slight in the last couple of weeks. He was concerned since I never really joined anyone for drinks, politely refused any offers of going out – he knew I was alone over here apart from work and he had no idea about my life outside.

"Something is just not right Peter, she is here every day before 5am and after beating the crap out of the bag in the gym she comes straight into the office; I never see her eat, she blanks out on herself sometimes and gets the shakes for no apparent reason. She is fantastic at her job and her work with the local offices and training programs for medical support have been invaluable – but have you seen her take a day off since she started?"

"She is getting used to the city Neal, it is a hell of a change from what she is used to on a base and the desert to where she is now, I'm not surprised she is here early as she is military and they keep weird hours and drill times. The eating and company I have noticed and I'm keeping an eye on it as it could be related to the shakes she has been getting and she may need to go to our provider to get checked out. As for days off, yeah she has taken time off, I'm sure she has used at least a week's holiday in the last couple of months?"

"She hasn't taken a day off since day one, I checked with HR. I saw her in the gym this morning and she was fighting something big and nasty, what I don't know but I know the signs of delayed stress and emotional breakdown that she is trying to keep hidden – we need to talk to her, find out what is going on or she'll put herself in danger through work or by doing something stupid if she gets too stressed and can't find a way out!" Neal replied.

That caught Peter's attention more than anything and he leaned forward as he saw me enter the office again looking slightly flustered, he nodded in my direction and watched me sit down and get back onto my workload on my desk.

"What do you mean something stupid, do you think she is involved or going to do something?" he asked gently.

"Inside of her right wrist is a four inch deep scar across her artery – that's not a wound made by an accident – it was deep, deliberate and violently done. She either did it herself, or it was done to her – the worst thing is the wound is only a couple of years old at most – I think we need to find out more about her past?"

"Neal, you heard her when she introduced herself – military personnel keep tight lipped about bad incidents and I am aware she was involved in something horrific over in the desert – I've had suspicions for a month or so when she got the shakes really bad after seeing a bus load of children being threatened. I've made some inquiries and I'm just waiting for approval to get her a week's worth of downtime so we can spend some quality time getting to know her, might be a good time to introduce her to June – she has a wonderful way with words?"

"Alright, tonight 7pm – dinner and drinks – do not take no for an answer!" Neal replied.

He nodded and headed back down the stairs towards me, I looked back up at him and smiled as he handed me a note and told me to be there and it was just a casual couple of drinks so we could all get to know each other a bit better. I was going to refuse and had the words ready formed in my mouth and he closed my jaw with his fingers and shook his head.

"No excuses, you're coming to my house tonight to meet some friends and let everyone get to know each other a little bit better – if you need a lift then I can drive and get you?"

I shook my head and agreed to the invite and got the instructions to where he lived and where I could park without invoking the eternal damnation of the local PD meter maids; I grinned and nodded as he walked off with a small whistle and bounce in his step.


	3. Chapter 3

I had just crossed the road and stood at the bottom of a massive building that was beautiful – it was the one strange feature of NY, the most amazing buildings in the weirdest places and they were so clean for being in a working city full of pollution. I found the main front door and rang the doorbell, a woman came to the door and I introduced myself and said I was invited by Neal – she immediately smiled and brought me into the lobby and my mouth hung open. The place was very basic but incredibly beautiful and full of warmth and the smell of baking; I followed the woman and was advised to head up the elevator to the top apartment and look for the red door. I headed up and wondered if my jeans and checked shirt were a little too casual for this place – I was probably going to get ribbed for my bright red trainers, dark blue jeans and blue shirt – oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I knocked on the door and pushed my fringe out of the way and tied my hair up in a ponytail – that was a mess as my curls were bouncing around the place! The door opened when I was fighting with them and I went bright red as Neal stood there grinning as I swore loudly as my hair went fizzy.

"Whoa easy tiger – protective custody for the hairband!" he said laughing.

I pulled out the hairband and my hair settled down around my shoulders covering my face and I walked in, I was bright red and I muttered and apology to him about the language, he waved it off and told me to make myself at home – I was a little early as I decided to walk instead of drive so I could have a few drinks – I prayed he had beer in the fridge or I would have to go to the shops and buy a case! He told me to help myself in the fridge and I grabbed a local made beer and took a big drink as I looked about the room and spotted the view outside, he smiled as I stopped and stared at it and moved closer to the balcony with a look of wonder across my face.

"Amazing views huh, one of the things I love about the city, wait a couple of hours and you'll see the sunset over the skyline," he replied to the unspoken question.

"It's beautiful, you're lucky to live here and be able to see it – been awhile since I have just looked at the sky without seeing…." I stopped myself.

"Without seeing?" he inquired looking at me.

"Oh nothing; I'm just rambling a bit. Am I too early, I can come back when Burke gets here?" I redirected.

He shook his head and took a seat outside on the patio chairs, he motioned for me to join him and I pulled myself onto the rattan chair and curled up as I leaned back and enjoyed the sun coming through the clouds. I knew Neal was watching me through the side of his eyes and I knew he had questions for me, might as well be him – I trust him enough to at least give me some honest opinion.

"You and Burke have been keeping tabs on me, will you tell me why?" I asked.

He looked at me and found me looking straight in his eyes from across the balcony; he nodded and leaned forward keeping eye contact with me for the entire time.

"You haven't taken any time off since starting the FBI, you have moments that you aren't on the same page as us and you're hands shake badly. You don't eat and you beat the crap out of the gym bag every morning with enough venom to rival a nuclear bomb; you refuse company and you have what I suspect is flashbacks – this morning in the locker room – I saw you have an episode – what's going on Freya?" he stated clearly.

My heart went into my throat and threatened to choke me.

"Are you the only one who knows about the flashbacks?" I whispered.

He shook his head gently and held up his hand when I was about to speak.

"I told Peter and only because I saw what it did to you – I've been there, maybe not as bad as yourself but I know the feeling of terror when it happens and then the nausea that hits seconds later. We're not here to judge you or call you out on it, but you are alone over here and we care about our team – I care about my friends and that includes you!" he continued gently.

I was fiddling with the label on the bottle and had flushed bright red, I knew he had been watching me and it was making sense that he befriended me; problem was I was really broken and had just started to learn to 'walk in life' again. I hung my head down again and blew out a gentle breath, trying to think of something simple to say to make the statement that would probably make him run.

"Not much to care about over here Neal, sometimes people like me are just not worth the trouble to fix – sometimes they are just past broken and they are just living from day to day!" I whispered.

I wiped my eyes and took a really big drink – basically downing the bottle of beer in one go; Neal took the bottle off me and pulled me to my feet. I looked anywhere but at him and he grabbed my chin and looked me straight in the eyes and searched for something to work with, something to latch onto and bring me out of the mood I was in. I had latched onto the piano in the corner of the room and frowned at the sorry state of it, it really needed some work done on the covers and probably a good tune up – I was making a mental list in my head and he had caught the wheels turning when he turned to look at what I was focused on. He stood back slowly and took my arm as he pulled me towards it.

"Do you play?" he inquired.

"I can play but I'm not the best at it – recovery gave me time to pick up a hobby and lets me de-stress; do you play?" I replied.

"A little – what do you mean recovery?" he replied.

I shrugged my shoulders and winced at the constant ache I was having recently, he clocked that as well and moved me to the front of the piano as he walked to the fridge.

"How about I get us another drink, you play the piano and tell me what is going on?"

I had a small smile going across my face at that comment, it was similar to what the doctor on the hospital ship said to me daily when we were doing Physio; instead of the drink thought it would be painkillers and IVs while he got a coffee while on break. I nodded and after a quick check of the tuning I got settled and hummed out a small tune as I started to play softly. He didn't say anything as I began to sing softly to a tune I knew and had learned over many sleepless nights on the ship – seems I made people cry with this song. I could hear Neal come back over to me with the stronger drinks and I started to talk.

"Two years ago I was involved in a medevac that went badly wrong, we came under heavy enemy fire and had to make an emergency landing about eight clicks away from our destination; the enemy found us later that night and most of my team were killed in one of the worst night time fighting the area had seen in a few months. Myself and one other marine made it out alive but we were captured and tortured by the cell, being a man over there is bad enough, being a female soldier in an extreme Islamic country and bound by terrorists – let's just say I was a chew toy for them." I blurted out.

I could hear him stop dead behind me as I told him, I heard the sudden change in his breathing, the rattle of the wine he was opening and the small gasp as he realised what I was telling him; I continued to play the piano and get everything off my chest.

"I tried everything to keep my partner alive but he died from toxic shock a month later from infected wounds and the venom they exposed him too, it was horrific and he died screaming before his heart gave out. I managed to bury him where they were holding us, I stumbled upon a mass grave full of children's bodies – they had been experimenting on them – all female – all less than 15 years old – all mutilated."

I knew he hadn't moved apart to lean into the table and take some deep breaths; he was looking in the mirror that reflected back towards me playing the piano across the room, I had to keep on going through unless he told me to stop or leave – whatever he needed.

"They used razor wire as a lash when I refused to create the venom in large quantities, the urinated on the blades first which caused massive infections to set in, when I was healing from the lashings they used to beat me for the simple pleasure of showing a foreigner that the male sex was stronger and a woman has no place but at their feet. I was lucky though, they never raped me, it was deemed 'unclean and against the Qur'an'." I continued.

"Frey…." He whispered.

"It was six weeks later, I had managed to keep track on a wall – I heard troop movement throughout the day via chopper – they came that night and took out the terrorist cell; I don't remember much as I took four bullets, three which went through my shoulders and arm and another which went through my side and gave me some impressive scars. I woke up nearly two weeks later after being in a medically induced coma, lying in a hospital with my old CO asleep at my side on a chair."

I had stopped playing the piano and had lowered the lid over the keys, strangely enough my heart did feel a little lighter after blurting out what I had gone through but I am sure that Neal was probably going to be revolted every time he looked at me now. I slowly turned around and took a deep breath as I looked up, to my horror I found Peter there too with a look of shock and horror on his face. I clenched my jaw and took a quick deep breath before grabbing my bag and heading towards the door.

"I should go, I've ruined the evening – what the hell was I thinking even being here?" I muttered looking for my jacket.

Peter moved in front of the door and blocked my path, I stopped and sighed – they wanted answers – very worst they wanted to show how sorry they were. I turned around to face Neal and he was pale – no wonder considering the information I just unloaded onto his shoulders and I didn't know how much Peter now knew?

"Jesus Neal, I said for you to gently ask questions, not interrogate her!" Peter exhaled.


	4. Chapter 4

I stared at them both with huge eyes and pale face, I knew all the blood had drained from the neck upwards and I was so embarrassed that I stumbled before leaning against the wall and recentering myself.

I looked up at Burke who was glaring at Neal and sighed gently.

"I volunteered boss, Neal wasn't asking anything or pushing me; I knew you had questions so I just got everything out in the open and hoped that you wouldn't send me back home in a rubber plane!" I confessed.

Neal sat down hard on the chair beside the table and ran his fingers through his hair, he was clearly distressed and I didn't blame him; he had guessed I was traumatised somehow but not to the point that I was and he was trying to process the best he could. Peter put me down on the seat opposite them both and handed me another beer which I took a massive drink out of again – take it dinner was going to be late!

"This is why you had extra evaluations before joining the FBI and why you're file is sealed? Could you not have come to me and let me know that sometimes you may struggle and need a supporting hand, just a little guidance?" he asked gently.

I sighed and ran my hand around the back of my neck, trying to keep calm and explain as best as I could about the issues I faced sometimes.

"That would have been an interesting conversation boss – 'Hey boss, just to let you know that I was captured, tortured and shot four times in the line of duty and may freak out occasionally with PTS flashbacks – thought you should know in case you find me screaming into a towel in the gym!'." I improvised.

A burst of laughter from across the table had us both looking up at Neal who was trying to contain himself as he listened to me state the obvious, I couldn't contain the grin across my face and started laughing myself as the situation became really funny; Peter just looked at us both and shook his head – he must have thought we were both off our rockers. Once we had calmed down a little bit he fired some more questions at me and I answered them truthfully, may as well get the information out there and if he thought I was a wildcard then he could deal with me as he saw fit – hopefully I was worth the risk? He told me about the week that he had booked off for me starting tomorrow, he knew I needed time to get settled in and once he found out I hadn't even had time to buy furniture and was living in an empty shell for the last three months, he ordered me to get shopping. Neal volunteered to come with me, I shrugged my shoulders and he told me I could sleep in the spare room tonight down the corridor since I was living on a truckle bed and probably hadn't seen a duvet for months.

"No buts, if your back can get bad then you can use the bath, soak for a while and relax in a comfy bed and get some proper sleep; we can organise shopping in the morning and I can show you some of the main sights, take you for lunch and choose wallpaper if you want?" Neal commanded as he passed me a massive bowl of pasta and chicken.

I sighed and nodded as I grated some cheese on my pasta and tucked into the meal with a passion, it had been a good while since I had a solid meal as I normally just came home and fell asleep due to the meds I was on for the pain that crept up occasionally; the worst thing about the meds though was they caused the flashbacks when I came off them due to the withdrawal messing with my body chemistry. I finished my meal in record time and chewed on some bread, Neal offered the pot to me and I found more pasta – he was a really good cook since I had watched him make the sauce and it was delicious – I loaded my bowl again and tucked in with a grin across my face.

"Good to see she has a healthy appetite, hate to see what she's like ravenous?" Neal whispered.

I looked up and flushed as both of them were watching me eat, I was really self-conscious in case I had sauce across my face, thankfully I didn't and they were just happy to see me eat and relax for a change. I finished my second bowl and had a few sips of my water as I leaned back on the seat and stretched my back – very bad move as I flinched and squeaked in pain before jumping off the seat and walking quickly around the room hissing under my breath. Both men stopped what they were doing immediately and got me to stand still as I clenched my hands tightly and fought back the tears – I felt the ripping right across my shoulder once before and I knew I had ripped something internally, probably the thick scar tissue which I was due to get thinned out next year. Both men jumped up as I paced the room and wrapped my arms around my waist to reduce the strain across my back, Peter grabbed my shoulders and I squeaked again as the burn went across my shoulders.

"What happened, what do you need?" Peter demanded holding me still.

I shook my head and plastered on a smile as the ache and burn went across my shoulders and stung like a bitch, Peter felt me tense and held me tighter as I bit back tears and from crying out; Neal was looking at me and touched my back – I was out of the hold Peter had me in within seconds and hissed as I leaned against the cold freezer, trying anything to get the burn to ease up.

"Freya, what do you need? What's wrong with your back?" Neal demanded.

"Think some scar tissue ripped, might need to go to the casualty department – I'll run along there now, see you at work tomorrow!" I hissed through my teeth.

Peter had managed to get himself up off the floor and stopped me at the door that I had ran too, he held me still and shook his head.

"Don't be crazy, that's nearly four miles and your obviously in pain – I'll get June to drop us off and we'll get you back home!" he replied.

Neal grabbed my arms and helped me down the corridor as Peter called on June who came running to meet us at the bottom of the stairs.

Thirty minutes later I was lying on my stomach on a stretcher as a nurse laid cooling pads across the now impressive bruising appearing under my shoulders, the ripping had been the scar tissue and Burke had used his credentials to get us seen to quickly when I was nearly screaming in the back of the car due to the heat and pain coming from my back; the cooling pads were a trick I discovered that worked – that an the morphine drip was useful. I heard a faint cough and knew Neal was outside the curtain, the nurse covered my back and made sure I was descent for visitors before he was allowed in; he flinched as he saw me on the bed and looking slightly goofy on the medication.

"How do you feel, you look a lot better!" he whispered.

"Feel better but do you think you can tie my hair up, it's tickling my neck and driving me potty!" I replied handing him a band.

He wrapped my hair in a bun and tied it off securely so my neck was clear, I knew he could see the minor scars across the lower part of my neck and collar bones; he made no move or action to see the rest and kept his eyes on my face. He took my hand as he sat down beside me and I gazed at him and stuck out my tongue which got him laughing. He returned the favour and passed me a small sip of water that I was allowed to keep hydrated while I waited for the surgeons to come take me for a scan.

"You can see the scars if you want you know, it's just skin and apparently some spectacular bruising across my shoulders!" I added.

"Are you sure, pretty personal and I don't want to take advantage of you being drugged to the eyeballs?" he replied.

I winked at him and nodded.

He gently pulled down the sheet across my back and sucked in a breath as he saw the damage inflicted to me. My back was like flayed meat in certain areas and he could see the four bullet holes in my back and could probably imagine where they came out the other side. He could see the damage to my skin due to the infections and repeat surgeries to debride tissue that was dead – at least I never had to wear a backless dress!

"Oh Freya….." he whispered.

"Pretty horrific huh," I slurred through the medication.

He covered me again and made sure I was comfortable before sitting back down beside me and taking my hand again, he laid a kiss across my knuckles and brushed my fringe off my face as the morphine kicked in full blast courtesy of the surgeons arriving and a nurse prepping me for surgery. The doctors looked at Neal who was still holding my hand and passed him the forms for him to sign as next of kin and he signed them; they promised to get him from the waiting room as soon as I was out of surgery and he could stay with me in the private room that had been organised by June at the hospital. He stood up and watched as I was wheeled out the room and headed to where June and Peter were waiting in the family area, they both stood up as he entered and June patted his shoulder as she gave the men a couple of moments to talk.

"She's gone to surgery and will be out of action for a few weeks while she heals, seems the scar tissue twisted and ruptured, she'll be fully recovered once the extra tissue is removed – it's apparently a common issue in these types of wounds." His voice broke near the end.

Peter was looking at him and took a deep breath as he nodded at the news, he had a feeling for the last couple of weeks that Neal had feelings for me since he was always bringing me coffee, making me laugh and smile – putting little drawings on my desk with origami figures.

"How long Neal, and don't say you don't know!" he asked.

Neal bowed his head and looked slightly red at the question, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I liked her from day one and tried to make her feel welcome, but gradually over the last month or so I wanted more – you probably figured that out though – I know Elizabeth has and she suggested the drawings!" he replied.

Peter smiled and nodded.

"First woman you have shown an interest in for a good while and she is one of my agents and a soldier – ironic huh?" he whispered.

Neal flushed red and then his frown deepened, Peter saw it and enquired with a hand gesture.

"I saw her back Peter – what she endured….what they….how can people do that?"

Peter laid a hand on Neal's shoulder and sighed.

"She knew the risks and accepted them so she could help others in need, she is a true hero – give her time to come around Neal – support her since she trusts you!" he replied gently.

Neal looked lost for a moment and had a look around the space they stood in.

"She knows so little of life outside the military, and I'm a mess from Kate – how do I tell her that?" Neal replied.

Peter just laid his hand on Neal's shoulder and squeezed before making a call to his wife and heading up the stairs to the private waiting area.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up with a really fuzzy mouth and the dull ache of over taxed muscles right across my back, I couldn't move as I was padded up with cushions so I was raised off my back and on my side at an angle. There was an IV and morphine drip to my left and oxygen tube under my nose – I looked at the monitors on the wall and saw my stats were a little low but stable; the door opened and a man in blue scrubs came in and smiled as he saw me awake.

"Good morning Freya, I'm Mark Kellie and I was your surgeon last night; do you remember what happened when you arrived or are you a little fuzzy?" he inquired gently.

I blinked and swallowed, he passed me an ice chip and I sighed at the sudden rush of fluid down my throat that eased the ache; he chuckled and I nodded in thanks.

"Scar tissue ruptured after being twisted, morphine drip and cooling pads and then I was out cold – sorry to be a bother!" I murmured.

He looked up from my medical notes and frowned, he didn't like that I had called myself a 'bother' but continued anyway making a small note on the side.

"Not an issue Corporal and as you know it's a common issue among these types of injuries and I do a retraction of scar tissue at least three times weekly on civilians and military. The good news is that I have thinned out the tissue, removed any lingering issues and you should be healed up in a month, but I want you off work that entire time – I understand you are now a FBI agent – pretty impressive career change!" he replied changing my IV bags.

I nodded and winced slightly at the gentle pull of the surgical site.

"Had an offer I couldn't refuse to be honest, still do medical detail but mainly catch bad guys now – keeps me on my toes!" I replied smiling.

The surgeon laughed and nodded before handing me the morphine pump dispenser and hitting it once for me, I heard the click and then the warmth as the drug travelled up my IV into my body.

"Well apart from all the excitement in your life, you really do need the downtime; your blood work has come back and I'm not happy with the results – your seriously anaemic with really low potassium and B12 results. We're going to keep you on fluids for another few hours and repeat the tests, hopefully they will improve but you need to start eating to get your strength back up – it's pretty obvious that you were working yourself at both ends of the candle and then crashing at night!"

I sighed and nodded.

He looked at me and smiled as he marked some notes down on my chart and clicked the BP cuff to check my stats, I looked about the room and spotted a familiar face outside the room waiting in the corridor; I waved and he smiled as he saw me. The doctor was happy with the stats and said I had a visitor but not to overtax myself since I had just woken up, I nodded and the men swapped places; one with a clipboard and the other with a small plant that I recognised as an orchid. He came to sit down beside me and I smiled as he raised the plant to let me see it and put it on the small table beside the bed.

"Hey how are you feeling?" he asked gently.

I smiled gently and nodded.

"Painkillers rule and I can't feel a thing, probably going to hurt like a bitch when they wean me off the painkillers and start Physio in a day or so. How's work going, any new leads?" I reply groggily.

He chuckles and brushes my fringe off my face and gives me an ice chip to suck on.

"None for Keller but your search found a link to the U-Boat and the team are working on tracing the markers through the military, how did you know the German's used a radioactive isotope during the welding process?" he asked puzzled.

I shifted slightly and he helped me raise the bed slightly so I could get more comfortable and face him better, it was nice just having a simple conversation for a change on a subject we both were interested in.

"During the war the Nazi's experimented on building nuclear powered subs but quickly discovered that they didn't have the technology to contain the raw energy safely enough to be used without blowing themselves up. The metal they used was then sent to slave labour factories and the prisoners created tanks, boats and weapons out the sheet metal etc. – one thing rumoured to have been built with a part of the central reactor metal was a boat – the isotopes have a million year half-life and the military can trace the isotope signature."

"So you made a call to a contact in Germany and they sent over the details for the experiment so you could trace it – clever. But there is no-way you found that out via Google?" he replied.

I shook my head and sighed, some more family history now.

"My great grandparents were held as prisoners in a few camps, both were doctors and have value to the Nazi's 'Aryan order'. They treated a number of sick patients from factories that were coming down with radiation sickness and their families were developing diseases for no apparent reason – both of them died from exposure sickness a few years after the war, thankfully they had been involved in the Nuremburg trials and made the allies aware of what was going on – they saved a lot of people." I replied proudly.

Neal had taken my hand again and was soothing some cream over my knuckles that were still raw looking from the punching bag, I was flushed red at the attention he was paying me and was getting really embarrassed – I was sure as hell he knew I liked him and was going to put me down as I don't think I am his type. I flexed my fingers and smiled as the smell from the cream hit my nose, it was the cream from drawer at work – a really old style balm that smelled of herbs and spice; I looked up at him and he grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"Have you been here all night?" I asked suddenly.

"Yeah, didn't want you to be alone when you woke up – I'm too much of a gentleman to let a lady wait alone in a strange place," he replied smiling.

"Even if the lady has close quarters hand to hand combat training and is armed?" I replied trying to keep a straight face.

"Especially then – the other person who you meet may need protection!" he replied.

I burst out laughing at the remark and a huge smile split his face as he saw me fully relax and the cheeky side came out in my humour, he finished with my hands and we sat there talking for a while about what else was going on and that I was on early medical leave so I could heal up and come back to work in one piece. He told me that the military had made the director aware of the injuries and that I were scheduled for surgery next year, unfortunately it is just fate that sped that up and it was no-one's fault. I was cleared to work after the mandatory checks in a month, as long as I was fully healed and cleared by the Physio – I nodded and watched as Neal made a swan from a small piece of paper in the drawer.

"This is pretty awesome!" I said amazed.

"I'll teach you when you're out of hospital which reminds me!" he started.

He opened the drawer beside the bed and I saw some clothes laid out on the shelves, they weren't mine – I didn't own silk! I looked at him and frowned.

"June and I went to your house to collect some clothes for you, she was horrified you have been here three months and don't even have a proper bed – just to let you know she has decorators in there now and is spoiling you – don't try and stop her as it won't be worth the argument. You have a room along from me in the big house for as long as you need and she is not accepting a refusal – we have a mama bear on our hands!" he informed me.

I lay there with my mouth open in horror, I wasn't even going to be staying in that apartment as I couldn't afford it and was looking for cheaper apartments, I knew by looking at Neal that June had discovered that fact and taken matters into her own hands and dealt with the living situation – I went bright red and really embarrassed. Neal leaned over to me and closed my mouth again with this fingertips, he grinned and winked as the door opened again and in walked some of the other team members with some food and a bunch of flowers – a few of them had smirks on their faces as they saw how close Neal was to me and where his hands had taken mine.

"Good morning guys!" Jones called cheerily.

We both looked up and grinned as the room crowded with people from the team who gave me gentle hugs and presents, they knew they could only stay for a little while before the nurses were due to come back and check my dressings so they stayed for a bit in smaller groups and winked as they left me alone with Neal an hour or so later. The nurse arrived and shooed him out the room while she changed my dressings on my back and changed the medication patches across my spine; she got me settled back down after getting me to the bathroom and letting me freshen up – I made my way back to the bed in some fresh PJ's and lay back on my side as Neal walked in with Peter.

"Hey boss," I called gently yawning.

Peter smiled and closed the door behind him as he followed Neal to the bedside chairs, they looked exhausted and the days events must have really taken it out of them both as they landed on the chairs heavily and stretched as they finally got alone time.

"Hey rockstar – everything alright or did the guys tire you out?" Peter inquires.

I chuckle and shake my head gently; I point to my back and he notices the patches.

"No they are weaning the painkillers off and started me back on my meds for the PTS – I use patches instead of pills, makes me a little drowsy – should only be for a day or so!" I replied.

He nods and counts the three patches and colours running down the base of my neck.

"Well you look a lot better than the last few days and your personal assistant here has kept me up to date with what's been happening and the information you passed to him about the U-Boat details – impressive bit of information gathering!"

"Thanks to my great grandparents we may get a lead on that idiot Keller!" I stated.

Neal was looking at his shoes with a smirk on his face, Peter was openly smiling at the comment and I rolled my eyes as he looked between us both and shook his head; he waved away and left us alone to our own devices with a smile across his face as I went red. Neal looked at me and I went redder for no apparent reason, I don't remember these meds making me blush like this before?

"Oh screw it!" Neal exclaimed suddenly.

He sat on the bed beside me and took my face in his hands, I looked up at him and he kissed me with every little bit of passion he had I think; my hands went up around his own face as I kissed him back and he released me gently as I did my best fish impression as he smiled at me – I was in total awe and shock – damn he could kiss!

"That I have wanted to do for a while!" he whispered stroking my cheeks.

"Not complaining Neal, just a little surprised – didn't think I was you're type!"

"I think that's why I like you so much, because you aren't normally my type – but you amaze me and are so strong – nearly two months for you to get the hints I liked you?" he replied.

I went beetroot and stuttered slightly as I tried to find the words, I glanced up at him and he suddenly figured it out – oh jeez – this was really embarrassing!

"You didn't know you were being….Freya has….you've never dated!" he says amazed.

"Neal I wasn't exactly a rockstar when I was younger," I croaked trying to hide under the covers.

He just leaned down to kiss me again and only stopped when I tried to pull him into the bed with me and a nurse came in and coughed, we both turned around to see Peter and the Director standing in the doorway – I wanted the ground to swallow me up!

"Oh thank god for that!" the director whispered looking at us!


	6. Chapter 6

**Four days later**

I was sitting on the large veranda outside Neal's apartment listening to some music on my iPod as I watched the sunrise over the city, it had become a routine of mine every day since arriving here to at least watch the sunrise and sunset if possible from the roof of the office, my apartment roof or now here. I had let myself into his apartment with the spare key he had given me, he was still asleep in his bed and I had gently closed the balcony doors behind me as I sat on the chairs and cuddled up under a thick shawl; I smiled as the first rays of the sun hit the horizon and stood up, leaning against the stone balcony and catching the sun. I suddenly felt arms around my waist and calmed as I saw the leather bracelet around his wrist and leaned back to give him some heat since he only had a thin t-shirt on.

"Good morning, you're up early again – everything alright?" he whispered.

I turned to look at him and nodded, relaxing into his hold and wrapping the shawl around us both to keep us warm as we watched the city come to life.

"Catching the sunrise, start of a new day and new adventure – I'm sorry did I wake you up?" I replied as he nuzzled my neck.

We had come clean about our feelings in the hospital that day, the massive kissing moments and the fact that the director and Peter walked in on us doing the same was pretty obvious we felt the same way – both of us were laughing at the 'about time' comment from them both! We were taking it slow for my sake, new to the whole dating thing and I was loving the space he gave me to decide what I wanted to do – he was old school and smooth – that was cool – I was new school and have no idea what I was doing!

"No you didn't wake me, you were singing along to a piece of music, what are you listening too as it was beautiful?" he inquired.

I flushed gently and he nuzzled me again to get me to answer.

"Oh, film soundtracks as I was having trouble sleeping so they help – this was Ernest Gold – the main theme to Exodus – favourite piano theme tune at the moment!" I replied.

His eyes lit up as he recognised the piece of music from the film that had been showing at the cinema a few days ago in Chinatown, that had been a good night out and I had managed to get his radius extended for that night so we could go and relax.

"Can you play it, and don't say you're not good on the piano, you blew June away playing the theme tune to The Piano as a surprise last month!" he replied.

I shrugged gently and grinned as he leaned in for a kiss, he pulled me back on the chair and put an earphone in each of our ears so we could listen along to the sunrise together in comfort – the smallest things he did just made me smile inside.

**Three Weeks Later**

I needed to get out of the boxed room I was being held in, I needed to get my partner out of here and back to the base for medical attention or he would die – why were they doing this to us? I could hear my partners screams coming from outside and I could hear the men laughing as they injected him with the venom I was forced to create – moments later they would dump him back into the room and drag me out for some fun. I screamed as the lashed me with the metal wire, felt every lash across my back – every rip of the razor wire. I felt hands on me and I fought them, a garbled voice called to me and a violent shake – my eyes flew open and I gasped as I saw Neal sporting a bleeding lip. I flipped out the bed and landed hard on the floor as I scrambled into the corner of my room, he walked around the bed carefully always showing his hands as he saw I was freaking out after the nightmare.

"Hey it's alright your safe!" he called gently.

I was curled up in the corner with my head on my knees, trying to catch my breath and get my head back into order; six nights straight and the damn dreams wouldn't stop or at least ease up on me – on us since Neal was the one who had always to come snap me out of the dreams before I either pulled my weapon and shot something or screamed the house down. He knelt down beside me and pulled me into his arms as he wrapped the blanket around me to warm me up again, they always left me freezing cold with sweat and feeling like crap for the rest of the morning – not today though since he refused to leave this time so I could crawl back into the bed and curl up.

"I'm going to make another appointment with Jess, try and get you something else to ease up the withdrawal; can I at least try that since these meds are making it worse for you?" he whispered holding me tightly against his chest.

"I'm so sorry – I should go back to my own apartment so you can get some rest!" I murmured through the compression cuddle.

He pulled me in tighter and refused to let go of my hands, I was curled over his legs as he held me, tried to stop the shaking and get me warmed up again – he eventually just stood up and pulled me into bed with him, got me tucked up and I fell asleep curled against him.

**Two weeks later**

I was sitting in the briefing room waiting on the director getting my psych evaluation results from the good doctor who had been treating me for the PTS nightmares and the Physio who had overseen my recovery from surgery. Everything looked promising and I grinned when Peter gave me a big thumb up from his office where the meeting was taken place and I knew I was going to be reinstated to get back to work; I sent a quick prayer up to whoever was listening and sent a message to June who was waiting to find out what was going on – I immediately got a response and was promised a big bottle of wine tonight for Neal and me to have with our first 'official' date. Speaking of the devil, Neal sauntered into the office and immediately noticed I had a massive smile across my face; he signed to me and I nodded. The room's door opened and in walked Peter with my cleared file and a big smile, thankful to have his full team back together again and in one piece!

The day was pretty uneventful apart from the team welcoming me back with open arms and ribbing me about Neal and the hospital room, seems they had been saving up their jokes until I got back into the office so they could start the rumour mill going for some side action! I had managed to stop myself from going beetroot and just laughed with them and promised to myself that when the next round of weapons requalification came around in under a months' time – payback was going to be a bitch for some of them! Neal eventually saved me from some of the ladies and dragged me out of the office at 7pm to get back home for date night that was a specially ordered meal and a bottle of really fancy wine. Neal had gone all out and June had sent the car for us, I would have been happy to walk the couple of miles home with him but he wanted fed so I grinned and got in the car. I was telling Neal that he would get a surprise tomorrow around lunchtime as we had a visitor coming to see our office and speak to some of our agents who had worked with his staff, I was asked to babysit him for the day and was given carte blanch access to whatever I needed and full access to the FBI bank account – so tempted to book that months holiday!

I was sitting out on the balcony enjoying the sunset later on after dinner that was delicious and looked really expensive, it was nice to relax at home with a restaurant cooked meal – made a change from Rat Packs and microwave pasta! I stretched my toes and wiggled them; I had indulged and painted my toenails bright green, something I hadn't done for years and nearly had me disciplined during my basic training course. The dishes were done and I heard music coming from inside the house, it was a lovely song in Italian and I hummed along to the tune as I walked inside and was swept up in a dance by Neal as he tugged gently on my pigtails – I was going red again as he dipped me to the music. I was laughing as he swirled me around the room, I couldn't dance to save myself and he was doing a very good job of not complaining when I stood on his toes – such a gentleman.

"You really can't dance can you?" he whispered laughing.

"Nope but I am great in dealing with medical matters and my target scores are 98% - don't diss my dancing – I've never had any practice!" I replied grinning.

"Point taken and noted for later dates!" he replied kissing me.

"I wish you could stay the night but I know you have a really early morning, is there any chance you can take a late start on Saturday?"

I leaned in for a kiss and nodded.

"We both have Saturday off and I intend to spend tomorrow night here – if I am not too presumptuous?" I whispered back.

He looked at me and spun me around for another dance as I laughed and got breathless as he kissed me to the beat of the music.


	7. Chapter 7

0400 hours and I was up and already munching my breakfast before heading out the door to meet my VIP at the nearest NG unit, I clocked my time and put the dishes in the sink before grabbing my sidearm and pulling on my jacket. I checked my wallet, pulled on my hat and checked my make-up in the mirror before grabbing my ID and keys from the table; this was going to be a long day and I was definitely going to need strong coffee in the next couple of hours since I had less than three hours sleep due to a round of kissing with Neal. Twenty minutes later I was cleared onto the unit location and checked through security to where I was allowed to park and where I was due to meet my VIP, they guided me and escorted me to the location where he was due to appear within moments of my arrival. The CO of the unit returned my salute and greeted me, I had met him several times so far over the course of my reserve status onto his medical unit and also via the training I was providing to his cadets as required – it was good to see him again and catch up. The sentry outside knocked on the door and we both stood up quickly as the VIP entered the room, we both snapped to attention and saluted the three star general, he returned the salute and grabbed both of us for a massive hug!

"How are my favourite two people this wonderful morning?" he demanded.

"It's wonderful to see you again General, glad to see the better side of you though!" I replied cheekily!

He looked at me and burst out laughing, we had met over in Afghanistan where he had taken a hit on a rather sensitive area of his anatomy, poor bugger still got ribbed about Al Qaeda shooting a three star in the ass but it was a hysterical story. We got him into his seat and then the coffee appeared which I devoured with typical army hunger and the caffeine hit me like a ton of bricks, giving me that edge I needed to keep the exhaustion away. We sat talking for a little while about the plans for the day and the event that was planned for tonight as well, a few drinks on the base bar to meet and greet some top brass and heads of local law enforcement agencies, it looked like a good night and I had managed to get the whole of the team included, including a +1 for them which was a rare treat for their dates.

By 7am we were ready to go to the FBI building and I called ahead to the director to let him know we were on our way and I had the ID passes already in my pocket – we would meet them up on the floor and I could hear him smiling over the phone with his quick comment about the guys seeing me in my uniform – I told them to get a camera if they wanted their photos! We were on protection detail for the General as a personal favour to him and his wife who was desperate to see him make his 40th year in the service and to retire next month, I agreed along with Commander Bullard since we were friends of the family and promised that nothing would happen to him in our care. We made pretty good time on arriving at the FBI building and ensured that he was safe between us as we entered the building and I flashed my ID at security who were aware of the VIP and cleared our weapons through the detectors and logged us in, I winked to them as they clocked my uniform and got the General into the lift to take us up to the twentieth floor to meet everyone.

I nodded to Commander Bullard and stepped out the open lift on the White Collar floor and opened the door to the office, everyone stopped as the General and we both walked in and the director walked down the stairs to greet us. I led the way in and winked at Jones and Diana who were standing their looking at us as we walked into the office in our dress uniforms which they had never seen me in before; I walked to the director and nodded in greetings as I introduced our guests and took off my covers as I left the director and made my way up to the meeting room where the main conference would take place. I ensured everything was ready and the place was cleared inside and outside with commands from the snipers overlooking the main windows, the General walked in and I excused myself as I received a message from security.

Another man walked into the office and raised his eyebrows as he saw the military brass in the meeting room, Diana was still talking to Jones who was wildly articulating a point with his hands; he had to find out what was going on.

"What's with the military presence?" he whispered.

"VIP guests and one massive surprise for us – damn Neal – your woman – HOT!"

Neal looked at him and he pointed to the only female in the room.

I turned around after getting the message and made myself comfortable in the corner as I listened to the men talk about the task force they worked on last year, I glanced at the General who nodded to me; I saluted and headed out the room and down the stairs towards where everyone was assembled – they just stared at me.

"Hey guys – emm guys – You guys doing a collective coma impression or something?" I asked waving my hands in front of their faces.

"You're wearing your army uniform and it…wow – this is your regiment's uniform?" Diana asked.

"Yes, our Class One uniforms – basically a fancy Tweed suit with ornaments – are you alright guys?" I asked slightly worried now.

They nodded and left me after getting a couple of photos with me, I rolled my eyes and turned back to Neal who was still doing a shocked bystander impression; he suddenly snapped out of it and pulled me to the kitchen out of the view of others.

"I'm having really impure thoughts at work and you're only in a skirt suit covered in bits of metal – do you look this hot in combats?" he whispered.

"Depends if you want the image to include my MP5 or my medical kit – and why do I feel my face going red again – it's only a uniform?" I replied going red.

"Its part of who you are, part of you we have never seen and part I really want to know better! Please tell me you are wearing this tonight at the party on base?" he replied.

"I'll be wearing a variation of it due to the brass there, I have your suit sorted too with added features so they know who you are with, just to let you know that I will be armed tonight so don't freak out if you see me with a holster!" I replied kissing him.

I got a message through my earpiece and winked as I headed back to the meeting room and knocked on the door before entering and nodding to everyone, little did I know that the meeting was actually about me and I stopped suddenly once he told me the intentions of the FBI director.

"You want me to join SWAT – but I'm FBI!" I garbled out.

"And you still will be part of the WC division, but during tactical take downs you will be part of SWAT – the leader is desperate to meet you and see what you are made of!"

I looked at the General and frowned, he had put them up to this and I needed to find out why?

"Sir I may be fully trained in tactical operations but I was primarily a medic, females are not allowed on front line duties, wont the same rule apply here? I have never seen a female SWAT member…ever!"

"You are the first in a joint task force between the NG and FBI – we may decide to pull the plug for whatever reason, but the team connected to this FBI office have heard of you and want to see what you are made of."

"Sir, are they aware of all my training?" I inquired.

"You mean your training with the Commando's and close quarters – no they aren't but will be informed if you decide to join the unit. Your director has been briefed on everything in your file and that will stay confidential for the time being; but this is a major decision we ask you to look at and even ask questions of the Commander – he has passed his details via email to you and asks you to call him for anything."

"When do you need the answer for?" I inquired.

"Tonight before I leave the party; I believe you will do fantastically in SWAT and your skills will prove very useful to many investigations – but I need your answer!"

I nodded and sat back thinking for a second; I was fully Commando trained due to a duty assignment a couple of years ago, that is why I was stationed with marines in Afghanistan – to be back in similar close quarters with a bunch of men who we all depended on….

"Sir as long as I am still assigned to White Collar, then I agree!" I replied solidly.

Both men smiled at me and I swear I could hear them make silent vows never to piss me off once I was done with the training, we all stood up and shook on the agreement we had just made and I had to swear not to tell anyone, not even Peter or Neal.

We all headed home early that night after a successful day and I was just finishing pampering myself when Neal walked into the room with a bottle of wine and some food for us since we never managed to have lunch. He dished it out and we chewed on this amazing sandwich from a deli down the road as we talked about today's events and what was to be expected tonight – he caught I was distracted though and pulled me in for a cuddle.

"Are you alright?" he asked catching the tired look I was hiding.

"Yeah I just found out I have some training to do for the bureau qualifications exam, simple stuff but it's going to be a long week starting on Sunday. Come on we need to get organised for tonight, the car is due in an hour!" I said giving him a quick kiss.

Twenty five minutes later I was dressed in my Mess Uniform and had just finished putting on some really basic make-up to hide the dark circles under my eyes, I was shattered after the early start and the caffeine was slowly wearing off, one look at the man who walked into the room though was enough to perk me back up. He looked at me back and I curtsied as he looked me up and down.

"Damn, you're regimental uniforms are a serious turn on!"

I flushed bright red and he grinned as my ears turned pink – he remembered our bargain for tonight and he knew I was staying over with him for the first time; he promised to behave while on base and have a good time.

With a final few preparations we were called downstairs to the town car that had arrived to take us to base and I slipped in first with Neal following closely after me, he immediately took my hand and wrapped a small bracelet around my wrist – it was a smaller copy of the one I had given him a month or so ago – a Celtic knot with a piece of turquoise in the main clasp. It was beautiful and I smiled up at him as I gave him a quick kiss and a whisper about tonight, his eyebrows raised and he nodded – that was good!


	8. Chapter 8

We arrived at the base and parked up outside the Officer's Mess that had been decked out for the festivities, a long red carpet was laid out and a lot of people were outside in the garden wandering about looking at the decorations and talking; I straightened my uniform out and showed my ID to the sentry on duty who saluted me and passed me the stamps I needed for tonight. I showed Neal where he could put his jacket and we went off to find El and Peter who were already here. They were busy talking to the CO of the base and having a good time apparently as we walked over and they spotted us coming over, I snapped to attention and the CO told me to ease up and relax tonight – I apologised, it was habit being surrounded by this much brass and not snapping to attention every couple of seconds. El was loving the uniform and was ribbing Neal as he looked dashing in the tux that I had sorted out for him as a gift, the added little bit of tartan at the back of the waistcoat was a cute idea and he really suited the MacKenzie colours. We spent the next few hours talking to a lot of different people and having maybe a couple of glasses too many of excellent wine before we got some food into us; since we had the day off we decided to stay and party with the guys for a little longer and I was pulled onto the dance floor for a slow dance. It was romantic and passionate and Neal whispered to me that tonight was ours; I was going red as I noticed some of the other officers and guests looking at us on the dance floor as we danced – even the General was looking at me and had a massive smirk across his face. He walked across to where El and Peter were and pulled Peter to one side.

"The man dancing with Freya, is he a good man?"

"Yes, a little misguided but I trust him with my life as she does – why?" he asked concerned.

"Look at them she is practically glowing and I haven't seen that for a few years, she hasn't been that happy in a few years. God help your friend if he screws with her – half of the army will be after him!" he replied smirking.

He walked back over to El and by the look he gave her she knew immediately that the General had just laid down a law about Neal and I; she burst out laughing as Peter told her the news and she grinned as they watched us dance.

The party ended happily around 2am and we waited until near last to ensure that everyone from the office got away safely and the General was escorted to his car by the sentry details; he beckoned me to come forward and I grinned as he kissed me goodnight and shook Neal's hand firmly before nodding and heading back to his hotel. It took us an hour to get home due to the traffic and we were kissing each other all the way up to the apartment, we couldn't get enough of each other and only just managed to get the door opened without breaking it down. Neal put my bag down on the floor gently, we had snaffled a few bottles of unopened 2001 wine and had more to get delivered tomorrow by Mozzie – damn that guy was good! He came back over to me and held me gently as he let my hair down and kissed me.

"Are you sure about this – it's your decision?" he whispered.

"I'm sure and I want too!" I replied kissing him.

Thirty minutes later we were on the bed and Neal was on top of me as he kissed down my neck and shoulders trying to ease of the sting of his entry, I wiggled my hips and gasped as he moved and laughed as it wasn't painful anymore. He kissed my mouth again and took my hands above my head, the stretch did wonders and he began to move slowly; I raised my hips to hold him and my back bowed as he sped up. He looked at me as he thrust between my legs, I was gasping and wanted to touch him, to taste him as he moved inside me, he released my hands as I circled my arms around and felt down his back and lower, he groaned as I tilted my hips again and I laughed as I felt waves of pleasure pass through me as he hit something inside me that had me digging my nails into his back. He cupped my ass and tilted me further up, I went wild beneath him and cried out as he sped up and pounded into me with a force that I knew I would be bruised with tomorrow.

"I can feel you about to come, I'm close – come with me – your first time!" he whispered.

He reached down between my legs and rubbed in circles as he thrust harder and harder, all I remember was seeing sparks and crying out his name as we both came together – him slamming hard into me and staying locked inside me, letting me feel him releasing deep inside as I clamped my muscles around him and milking him for everything he had. I think I may have passed out a little bit as I woke up again with him still moving gently inside me and kissing my breasts, tickling my stomach with his hair. He rolled us over and I was on top – this was an even deeper feeling and he guided my hips to a rhythm I could control – it was over once I sped up and he slammed into me from underneath – I snapped my head back and cried out in joy as he did the same, cuddled between my breasts and holding onto me tight – we both collapsed onto our sides and fell asleep.

I was running on the treadmill the next morning in the basement gym in June's building, she had shown me the entrance and given me clear access to it and the wonderful equipment inside – I had the music up full blast on my iPod and was singing along as I hit my fifth mile and was grinning as the aches finally were wearing off. I didn't have to hear the door open to know I had a visitor, I waved in his direction and he grinned as I started to slow down and stretch off my muscles; I turned around and grinned as I got off the treadmill and went over to kiss him good morning. He was looking at the numerous hickies he had left across my stomach, I was looking at the mass of nail marks down his back – we both laughed as he dragged me back upstairs for breakfast and round two and three and four…


	9. Chapter 9

**Two days later**

I stood at the entrance to the shoot house and waited on the countdown beginning so I could make entry and defeat the pretend bad guys inside and rescue the hostages; I swung the grapple hook over the roof and climbed as the siren went off and snuck in through a really small window and set off some smoke grenades to cover my entry and visual. I hit four targets quickly as I relied on my previous training with the Commando's and dodged a rogue member of the team who was firing from multiple angles – that was cool – I can do that too! I chucked my scope around one corner and set up a diversion which they took the bait for, I was across the room and fired the double round into their back and grinned as the siren stopped and the team ceased all activities. They were called to the boss outside and we all headed down the stairs and regrouped in a circle, I nodded to everyone and winked at the boss.

"Okay ladies, she has passed every test thrown at her – what's your verdict?"

They all looked at each other and the TL of the unit came forward and shook my hand, he then nodded to his team who threw me over their shoulders and emptied their paint guns over me – always good to be hazed by the best! Fourteen hours of tests, qualifications and brutal physical exercises today and I had just been recruited into the SWAT team known to terrorise bad guys in our section of the city – hard part now would be hiding the bruises I knew were forming all over my body from the numerous assault courses I had tackled all week and was now regretting due to the aches and pains. I headed for a really hot shower and checked my phone for messages, there was only one from the director to inform me that I had a new uniform to wear at work while I was at WC – shit – this wasn't good. I had been given clearance to tell Neal and Peter once I had been accepted which was fine, but they were rather protective of me, them finding out I was now a member of their SWAT team and Commando trained – that was a can of worms not ready to be explored. My phone went off and it was Peter.

"Hey boss…." I started.

"You and I need to have a talk Freya, meet me at the office in ten minutes!" Peter hissed before cutting the call off.

The call was cut off, so much for my grace period before telling the boss – I think the director or TL of SWAT just blabbed? I headed out the door once I was changed into my casual gear and slung my bag over my shoulder as I waved to the team and frowned at the TL who called over to me.

"Trust me it will be easier this way – just tell them everything and we'll be there to back you up if needed alright!"

I nodded and headed off down to the car park to make my meeting with the boss.

It was going spectacularly badly.

I had walked into the WC offices and I was given that double finger point and summon manoeuvre by the director and the boss, Jones and Diana were staring at me again and I rolled my eyes at them and nodded that I was in deep trouble. I dropped off my kit bag at my desk and headed up the stairs with a slight wince at my tired muscles, they all clocked that wince and the moment I was in the meeting room the blinders went down and I put on the seat and passed some cool pads. The director was sitting opposite me and shrugged his shoulders at me, the boss was pacing the room trying to get words put together for what I was doing – you could see the wheels working but nothing was working when it came to speaking. He just looked at me and stopped pacing about, he spread his arms and shrugged his shoulders at me; forgive me but I couldn't stop laughing.

"Do you think this is funny? Do you realise how much danger you will be faced with being on SWAT? Those guys don't mess around in our unit and they hit hard and fast!"

"Oh I am aware Peter and I have gone through worse than hard tactical entry; you have to understand that half of my career was classified and you have just been cleared to know what training I received – you're worried about me joining SWAT?" I replied.

"You're a liability to this team now because of your relationship with Neal – when he finds out about you're training and then the last week with SWAT – he's going to go crazy!"

I was looking at the director who stepped in and got Peter to sit down so he could explain what was actually going on; I knew Peter had just heard the word that I had joined SWAT and hadn't been made aware of my specialist training – that should ease him up a little.

Or not!

"Are you fucking serious, you're….what the hell Harvey!?"

I flinched slightly as Peter nearly had a coronary as the director informed him of my previous training and what I was capable of in the field, Peter knew I was good due to military training and the FBI basic I was given; but he had no idea about my 'specialist training'. He was pacing the room again and I was ordered to stay in my seat as he got his head around the information he had been landed with; I could see it stressing him out – he didn't like his team to have secrets and hated it when lies were exposed.

"Boss I never lied to you, I just wasn't cleared to give you all the information; even the truth I gave you about how I was injured in Afghanistan was a soft hint that I was specialised!"

"I remember the story but I was more focused and concerned on the news that you had been captured and tortured for six weeks in a hell hole – is that who you watched die over there – your team?"

"No, I was with my secondary team who we were training for medevac, the man who I managed to keep alive for nearly three weeks was a member of my squad – my partner in arms. He was the one who got me involved after he saw the passion I had for saving lives on the front line during evacuations in Safari – he got me the trial. I passed every test, exam and physical exercise they hit me with; I passed multiple combat training exercises and didn't once complain about the long hours and shitty environments because I was doing what I loved!"

"You are a medic – you're not supposed to take lives!" he yelled at me.

"I'm a soldier – we are in the profession of keeping the peace and being armed to the teeth under heavy enemy fire – that is the role I signed up for before becoming a medic who was not allowed on the front lines due to having internal reproductive organs!" I replied.

"Woman should not be in a war – YOU should not have been in the war so young!"

"Is this actually because I am a woman? Is that the main problem?" I demanded.

"No – I believe that woman can do the same as men – my problem is that…it's complicated and I am more concerned about the PTS coming back to haunt you during a raid!"

"I understand that issue and I have been cleared by the Psych board and several specialists in mental health for this role, there would be grounds to bar me from tactical if I didn't pass the tests. I know this is one hell of a shock boss and for me it's actually a relief to be able to tell you about my life prior to moving here – something I can share with you if you all want to know – it lets you know me a little better!" I replied calmly.

Peter fell back into his seat and ran his hands over his face; he still saw me as the baby of the team, the one who had seen too much and been through too much crap at such a young age – he didn't want me on point on any of our cases and I had never even drawn my weapon in public before due to him. I looked over at him and took a couple of deep breaths before looking at the director who nodded.

"Peter this was my choice, think about it like this – anger management. I am trained to deal with these types of situations and the plug could be pulled at any minutes notice due to the DOD – they want this to be a trial – so I am going to do my best to show what I can do and that the team can work together with the FBI and lower the crime rate. My team has my back and I trust them, I trust all of you – if I didn't I would not be here."

"What about Neal? He lost a lot of friends and a lover in the last couple of years; his stress levels are pretty high. I don't think he could take losing you on the job; I know how he feels about you and in the two years since Kate was murdered, he hasn't looked at another woman or been on a date – you changed that and for the first time his smiles touch his eyes!" he whispered to me.

"I will be careful and rely on my team and experience in the field to help me pull through the roles – you need to trust me – and I need to go and tell Neal!"

The director handed me a large shoulder bag that was unmarked and he nodded for me to open it; it was full of combat gear blacks and my equipment for SWAT – they had included my patches on my sleeves and I saw they had included my weapons quills as well.

"Go and get changed, let us see what you look like!" the director ordered.


	10. Chapter 10

Five minutes later I buckled on my TAC belt, kneepads and holster to my legs and looked in the mirror; I looked pretty fucking amazing to be honest and couldn't wait to start on shift like this – tonight at Neal's was going to be interesting! I clipped in my firearm and badge to my belt and packed up my clothes and headed out of the room to be faced by Neal coming out the elevator.

"Please tell me you are going undercover?" he whispered as he saw my insignia.

"Come up to the meeting room, we need to talk!" I replied.

He watched me as I headed up the room and stared in horror as he saw SWAT written across the back of my shirt; he swore loudly and ran into the room to be faced with Peter and the director.

"Who the hell's idea was it?" he demanded.

"Calm down Neal – we need to talk and I am going to be brutally honest about the last five years of my life and my training. This is fully classified and you know the deal if you break the code. You can walk away now if you want, or accept me like you did yesterday – warts and all!" I whispered to his face.

"She has been granted access to join our SWAT unit and they have accepted her – she's our liaison officer," the Director explained.

Neal stared at me in horror and then anger at the two men beside me; he moved beside me and looked me up and down, noting the Insignia, weapons grade and other training I have. He shook his head and paced the room again for a moment before turning back to us.

"This is different Freya, you could get seriously hurt with these guys on call outs, I've seen what SWAT do and how they operate – this team especially!" he said pulling on my badge.

"I've been in worse situations than a SWAT bust Neal, I survived nearly seven weeks in a mass grave hostel in Afghanistan while I was beaten and starved daily, I survived watching my full medical team be beheaded in front of me and then having to watch as my best friend was slowly murdered by venom – SWAT is a walk in the park for me – it's something I want to do!" I replied.

He was pacing the room and I looked at Peter and the director to give us a few moments lone, I knew Neal was freaking out – I also knew he had found out through the military how trained I was and hadn't said a thing to me about it. The guys left the room and I locked the door behind them as I hit the button for the secrecy glass to shield us from prying eyes. Neal spun me around and kissed me as he slammed me against the wall and pinned me there with his hips, I kissed him back and finally got him to come up for air as I leaned over the table to catch my breath.

"Why in god's name didn't you tell me, I don't care if your career was classified – all you had to say is that you are the female version of the terminator? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you – I found out from some military brass last night over a glass of wine, they assumed I already knew and I just improvised questions – is that why you behave certain ways during a bust operations – you become hyperaware and get really fed up if you get banished to the truck by Peter!" he replied holding me again.

"Yeah, a little bit as I am a qualified field agent and they treat me like a child who needs protecting; I know that the boss just wants to keep me safe but it's cramping my style!"

He looked at me and held me tight against him, I could feel him shake slightly and I knew he was thinking about the day he lost Kate and the horrible way it happened – I never stopped him remembering her, she was important to him and a part of his life – she should be remembered and I lit a candle for her at mass every Sunday. I kissed Neal and promised him that I would be very careful when on duty with the team and that I would always follow orders and not put myself into direct danger without immediate back up.

"I'm taking you home and you may not be able to walk tomorrow!" he growled.

"That's alright, I'm off tomorrow and back on duty on Monday – I booked us a weekend away so I could give you any information you wanted, and also to try a few of these out?" I said showing him a page from the internet on my phone.

"That looks, can you get into that – is that even possible?" he inquired.

"Let's find out, I think you have turned me into a sex junkie – if it wasn't for the two bosses outside, you would be against the wall with me on my knees….."

He kissed me and growled as I laughed into his mouth, I had to let him readjust himself before I opened the door again and let the guys back in; they looked about for the destruction but I told them we would discuss at home and see them on Monday for the new rota schedule.

An hour later I was being pounded into as I held onto the ladder on the wall, I was using all my leverage to help Neal take little of my weight and I gripped him with my legs around my waist and ordered him to go faster and harder. He gripped my hips and tilted me further back as he went deeper inside me, he bottomed out and I screamed as he rocked a further inch inside me – I felt so full and the amazing position made him rub over that spot inside me. He whispered for me to keep holding on, he was trying to make it last for as long as possible – over half an hour so far and I was nearly incoherent from the amount of orgasms he had given me and he had denied himself any so far, even with the swift movement of me taking him into my mouth and sucking with ice in my mouth. I gripped his shoulders and rolled my head back as I felt him stiffen and cry out my name as he came – it was enough to send me over the edge again and made his orgasm last longer as I milked him for everything he had again. We landed on the floor in a soft heap on the pillows we had put down as a precaution; he was kissing my breasts and playing with the scars on my belly as I laughed – I think we were trying to crawl inside each other with that position and I was blissfully exhausted. Neal leaned up over me and rocked slightly, my head rolled back again as I felt him solid inside me and he whispered he would be gentler this time around. He was and we both bit into each other's shoulders as we came moments later from the deep angle and intense orgasms we had just had.

I woke up the next morning with Neal sitting opposite the bed looking at me, he had a massive grin across his face and I yawned and stretched feeling every wonderful ache in my body; he passed me a drink of water and some painkillers to help ease the ache. I sat up in the bed and he coughed as he saw the massive bruises across my chest and the massive bite mark on my shoulder, I looked down and chuckled knowing that his shoulder was probably the exact same – god knows how is back was?

"How about a hot shower and we can go get some food from town, go to the park and have a picnic on this beautiful day?" he inquired.

"Sounds amazing, how's the temperature – lets me decide on trousers or a dress!"

I hadn't really worn a dress in front of him but I knew he was getting ideas, thankfully most of my dresses were long enough for public decency but I had a couple that could cause impure thoughts. He helped me up and after a long hot shower, drying my hair and getting dressed, I came back through to find him casually dressed and holding a picnic basket that June had made up for him. I winked at him and grabbed my small shoulder bag and wrapped it around me, it had my wallet and weapon inside as well as my ID – FBI training 101 – never leave the house without your weapon, especially on your day off!

We walked the mile to the park and after finding a great spot I the sun we got set up with the blanket and relaxed as I slipped off my shoes and leaned back, it had been years since I had done this and it felt good just to be able to relax before a busy work schedule began. Neal was braiding my hair that I had left loose around my shoulders, he loved my hair as it was dark brown but had red highlights through it naturally – he especially loved it when I was in the gym and tied it up in pigtails – he loved to grab them and guide me.

"You're having impure thoughts Freya – you're flushed and breathing heavier!"

I looked up at him from where my head was lying across his upper legs and grinned, the angle gave him a direct look down my dress and he clocked that I was wearing very feminine knickers and not the standard army issue for a change; me thinks he was enjoying what he saw as I could feel him swell beside my ear. I turned my head gently and quickly nipped his bulge with my teeth; he gasped and I grinned. He pulled me up for a kiss and we were suddenly aware of an audience from the position we were in; we separate and flushed red – they chuckled and moved on.

"It's been five months since I met you and you mean so much to me already, I can't believe I was your first – you take my breath away – your battle scars are proof of how much you value life and the sacrifice you made to try and help anyone who needs it. You have become my life and it scares me slightly!" he whispered honestly.

I stroked his face and cuddled into his chest for support as I sniffed back in the tears; he had really moved me with what he said and I was trying to figure out how to reply to him when an almighty scream came from further down the pathway. I was on my feet and slipped on my shoes before Neal was on his feet and watched me take off at speed towards the now hysterical woman kneeling beside someone who looked like they had been shot. I slammed down beside them and checked for a pulse, it was there but his breathing was decreased on the left hand side – I called for an ambulance to the park and our location and asked the woman if she had anything sharp in her picnic basket I could use – she handed me a foil cutter and corkscrew and I noticed the straws in her basket too.

"Help him – please help him!" she yelled and cried.

"He has a collapsed lung and I need to insert a straw to get the air out – Neal, move her out the way while I do this!" I commanded.

I ripped open the guy's shirt and had put immediate pressure on his GSW to the shoulder, I got it tied off tightly with a tourniquet and wooden spoon they had in the basket and I poured the vodka over his chest and over the corkscrew to try and get it clean as possible. I found my space between the ribs and thankfully the corkscrew blade was sharp as hell and it slipped into the skin and muscle as I found my mark. Neal was holding away the woman and watching me work, ready to help if I required it as a crowd was gathering as the mounted police came over to find out what is going on. Neal told them we were FBI and I was a combat medic and knew what I was doing; they watched as I stuck my finger into the chest wound and slipped in the straw, moments later the man's breathing changed and I ducked as blood spewed out the end of the straw as he took in a deep breath and the lung expanded again. The wound from the tourniquet had come undone and I was given the AC compression dressing from the police's first aid kit and tied it off around the wound. I checked his vitals, I swore loudly as there was silence and no pulse, I straddled his waist and began compressions and CPR with the mask they handed me, he wasn't responding yet but I heard the sirens from the ambulance come down the pathway and I got off his waist. The woman was screaming as I stopped for a second and with my closed fist I slammed the heel of my hand down over his heart and the guy took a huge breath in. I gasped in relief and checked his reaction – he was slow to come around but his pulse and respiration were stable. The police got the paramedics over and I told them what had happened, they chucked some saline bags at me as I helped them start an IV as they did the checks and got him strapped into a back board. I had left one of the IV bags for me to wash my hands with and Neal got the woman into the ambulance and we watched as they were taken to hospital.

An hour or so later we were released by the police and given a lift home since I was covered in blood, June nearly had a heart attack but Neal explained as I headed to have a shower and get changed into my gym clothes since I was too hot for anything else. He came back into his apartment and found me sitting at the piano playing a tune.

"Freya, are you alright?" he demanded immediately.

I was pale as a ghost and had a big drink of wine in front of me, I was just a little rattled after this afternoon's event and needed a few moments doing something that was normal for me and to accept the incident as it happened. Neal sat beside me and watched me play and I nodded in reply as I got my body back under control.

"Yeah I'm alright Neal, working off the adrenaline rush," I replied.

He was looking at me and I stopped playing the piano as I took a big drink and leaned on him for a cuddle which he immediately gave me, I felt so much better now and I sighed happily as he pulled me up for a hug.

"You are amazing; that man would have died if you didn't react as quickly as you did – you're skills with that knife are scary but you saved another life in your own backyard – are you just waiting for the director to hear about it?"

I nodded knowing they would and then they would congratulate me, I was only doing my job and I knew I could save the man or at least give him a good chance to get to hospital alive; Neal leaned in for a kiss and handed me a couple of leaflets on where to go for dinner tonight as a treat – I decided on a Chinese takeout and the bedroom.


	11. Chapter 11

**Monday morning 6am**

I walked from the changing room to the office and keyed myself in; the whole layout of the area had changed since there was now a SWAT team assigned to the division on a permanent basis and they had an open plan area across the corridor from us now. I was geared up and slung my vest over the back of my chair and slipped my sidearm into my holster and strapped on my kneepads, a few people were still looking at me and I grinned at them as they shook their heads and continued their jobs. My badge was secured onto my belt and I headed up to the meeting that Peter had called and I flinched slightly as I sat down on the soft chairs and stretched my back out. We had done zero this weekend apart from eat and have lots of mind blowing sex against the bed, wall, balcony and in the shower – I never knew it would be like this but wow! My head snapped out the gutter when Jones walked in from coming back from holiday and stared at me in my gear, my official gear that was clearly marked in white letters saying SWAT.

"You have got to be kidding me – you're a member of that team – those animals?"

"Yeah and I nearly have them trained to use cutlery at breakfast!" I replied smiling.

He pulled me up and looked at my uniform; it was black boots, combats and black t-shirt and shirt which had my qualifications and rank within the team. He spotted my weapons grade badge and clocked the new firearm I was sporting at my side – he whistled and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Give them hell sister!" he whispered before they walked in the room.

I was grinning as I sat down and greeted everyone who was coming to the meeting, I had tried to smooth the way and did some baking yesterday and got them introduced into some Scottish goodies like Bannocks. Neal was already in love with them and he always had them after some 'strenuous exercise' – I think he just liked the hint of whiskey in them. The boss and the TL of SWAT walked in and they began introductions of everyone.

"Alright guys we need to get straight to the point and introduce our new best friends for the considerable future; this is Captain Brian Tanner and he is the TL of our new SWAT unit that is living next door to us; they will be working exclusively with us and possibly other divisions as required. This is a new task force that was created by the DOJ and DOD as trial to introduce a tougher stance on crime within this city and since our case history proves that White Collar can be dangerous, they chose us. Corporal Freya Cameron has joined the unit as a liaison between us and has passed all her training they put her through, she will be our joint decider with the TL and she will be an active precipitant within the SWAT unit."

"Damn girl, who did you kill to get on the team?" a rookie shouted up.

"Fourteen Taliban enforcers," I replied bluntly.

A few of the SWAT team bit their lips to keep from laughing as the rookie stared at me, he knew to get into SWAT you needed either advanced training or military career – I had both and had just shown him up a little in front of the big boys in the room. The meeting continued as the two teams introduced themselves to each other and I was busy chewing on a bannock and a cup of tea to at least give myself a chance to calm my nerves down. Neal arrived back from his 'meeting' with a contact and passed the information to Jones who latched it up onto the monitor; it was the warehouse that we suspected contained a lot of the Nazi stolen treasure from the uncovered U boat case we had a month or so ago and Keller had hidden the treasure after eluding us. The two teams sat in silence as they got all the information from Neal and we watched the information regarding security features and possible booby traps that were on the doors and windows.

"Okay, so SWAT are going in first and securing the area and are going to disarm any traps that Keller and his men have left for us; only on their command do we enter and hopefully make an arrest and let the CSI unit do their job and link up the evidence – Keller has to be fully connected to this job or he could walk from prison."

Brian walked forward and brought up the prints for the building, he wasn't happy with something and I spotted it within a few moments of looking at the screen.

"Captain, lower left corner on black wall is exposed to the elements and a perfect place to put a concealed exit ramp down onto the lower docks, might be worth having the coast guard unit on standby in case they go to water?"

He looked at me and smirked, the others did the same thing and I shrugged my shoulders as they winked at me – least they knew there were no flies on the girl today!

"Alright ladies this is the plan. Tyler take Freya to the top level and wait for entry command, Victor take South and Rob you can take North with Dave on support. Harry you ready for some fun with explosives?"

He grinned and we chuckled as he started making explosive noises and ribbing me about my EOD training – I had hit them with a smoke volcano in the male bathroom as a prank – unfortunately it turned out the guys had sat on the toilet first and got a full clean out. We went over a couple more details and once we were on site the plan could change due to new factors and information being gathered at the moment; we headed off to get ready and meet up at the weapons locker in the basement and would meet the team at the RV point. Neal pulled me to the side at my desk as I pulled on my fleece and vest, he looked worried and I gave him a quick kiss and promised him I would be fine – but because this was Keller we were dealing with, he needed to be careful too!

Five minutes later I was fully geared up and getting my weapons and ammo from the locker while my team mate checked my vest and gear to make sure everything was secure, I returned the favour to him and secured my medical kit to my spine as we headed to the truck and climbed in. Brian was driving and we were sitting in the back of the truck bouncing along the road and going over the warrant orders in our heads to ensure we knew what was going to happen and when, it was a fairly simple order, but we all knew that Keller being a devious SOB – it wasn't going to be that easy to catch him!

"Freya, you ready to do this with us?" a voice called over my comms unit.

"Ready and waiting Sir – let's catch this asshole!" I replied.

"Nothing better than a woman with a mouth on her!" shouted Victor.

"You can talk Victor – if you and your girlfriend made any more noise at our last party then we would have to use sonic grenades to cover the…." He replied getting slapped.

I was laughing as I secured my hair in a tight bun and locked on my helmet and checked the camera feed connected to it, the guys were ribbing each other merciless and it was a great team spirit to work in.

Twenty minutes later we parked up just south of the warehouse and with a final check from Burke, we proceeded into position and I climbed the outside ladder with Tyler covering my back as we got into position on the roof. It was our job to repel down the roof and onto the top of the crates to lay down cover fire as needed, we were having a bad start though as the roof had no proper support beams to let us repel safely and it was a ten foot drop onto the closest container. I clocked the pipe that had large grips on it going down the wall closer to the containers, if we were careful we could climb down it and edge up the containers that way into our position. We alerted our unit to what our plan was and got the go ahead – three minutes later we were in position and catching our breaths – seems that was a pipe from the old sewers and it was rather fragrant! We leaned into position and I moved further along to get into position and have ears laid out so we could capture what was being said by the men walking about on the floor.

"Agent Burke, ears have been planted and the team is in position – status?" our TL called.

"We are outside waiting on your command," he replied.

Tyler and I had one goal and that was to keep tabs on Keller if he was there and to contain him without injury, the good thing is that he was here, the bad news is that he went inside the container on the ground and wasn't coming back out? Tyler nodded to me to get ready to slide down the slanted container and start the raid on the count of three. I clicked my neck, brought my breathing and pulse under control and unclipped the safety on my MP5; the old rush of adrenaline came back and I focused on my target and slipped back into my 'warrior mode' as my old team called it.

"Three. Two. GO! GO! GO!"


	12. Chapter 12

Tyler and me both slipped down the container and laid down the cover fire for the other team members to make entry, two men went down by Tyler and I, another from Brian who took the pot shot from his perch. Victor and Dave had taken cover when the weapons fire trained on them and the door burst into flames from the bullets hitting the C4 on the locks – we all dove out of the way as the door burst free and showered us with burning debris. We got further out of range and pulled all the detained men out of harm's way and secured them. Tyler and I headed into the container and found nothing there, where the hell had Keller gone?

"Cameron, status on Keller?" a voice ordered.

"Keller's not here boss – Tyler and I will check the building and report back once the men are secure in custody." I replied.

"Copied"

The other agents came in and made the arrests as the EMS checked the dead and I went over to check on Dave who had been grazed by a flying piece of shrapnel; wasn't too bad but he needed stitches and a tetanus shot so I sent him to the ambulance outside. Tyler and I made our checks of the building and came back empty handed apart from a briefcase that had Neal's name on it in chalk; we had checked it and headed outside to speak to Burke and Tanner who were waiting for information.

"Seems there is an emergency tunnel underneath the container, it leads directly onto the subway lines so we can't follow without knowing the route it's on, it was one hell of a piece of work and must be a recent addition to the building. We did find this though, it's been checked and contains old maps and notes on the U boat and design – it's addressed to Neal." I replied.

"It's clear of any dangers we can detect and it's full of old maps and grids, maybe Caffrey can give us some insight into it?" Tyler commented.

I was given the go ahead and headed over to where Neal was beside the car and smiled as I saw him clock me coming through the crowd of people; poor bugger must have been on the knife edge right through today even though I told him I would be fine. I headed over to where he was and laid the briefcase on the boot for him to have a look at, knowing Keller there could be clues anywhere on the case and contents and possibly only Neal would know where to look. He raised his eyebrow and felt along the edge of the leather, a small pop was heard and a small gap between the leather and the metal case appeared. All of a sudden gun fire rang out and I pulled Neal down onto the ground and covered him; we were all looking at the high points around us and Tanner was giving out orders and telling people to keep low behind their vehicles. Thankfully no one had been hit and the ricochet had hit the truck's window that was bulletproof and didn't penetrate the inside; we waited as part of the team checked the local rooftops and after nearly five minutes there was no other shots fired and I helped Neal up from the ground.

"Are you alright Neal?" I demanded still on alert.

"Yeah I'm good, that makes the blood flow a little faster!" he replies shakily.

I did a quick visual check of him and made sure he was fine and not injured in any way; I lowered my weapon and secured it to my vest so I could check the briefcase that Neal was busy with. He picked it up and we headed over the car park as I kept an eye out for any potential dangers coming from the rooftops, the single shot fired was not sitting well with me and I knew there was a trap waiting for us somewhere; I let Neal go ahead of me so I secured his side and then we both heard a voice that had the whole of SWAT and the team turn around and take aim at behind us.

"Neal you are a dead man!" the man shouted.

I spun towards the man and raised my weapon as he raised his a single shot rang out and a member of SWAT took him out but not before he released a hail of bullets from his SMG, I had spun in front of Neal and covered him as the bullets were fired; I was crouched over his body and took the impacts across my back and flipped over as they sent me to the floor on top of Neal as SWAT moved in towards the other man. Neal was just staring at me as lay on top of him and then starting shouting for help. I was lying on the ground gasping as the impacts had knocked the air right out of me and I couldn't catch my breath, I felt hands grasp my vest strap and roll me to my side – I saw Tyler telling me to cough and he shouted for a medic once he saw the blood pooling underneath me and that I couldn't catch my breath – I saw Neal be dragged away by the rest of the team and shoved into a car. Tyler checked my vitals and felt along my back for signs of blood but found none, he could only guess the wounds were on my chest or arms underneath me.

"Just lay still, you're bleeding from somewhere – where do you hurt?" he demanded.

"Upper arm, I think it's just a flesh wound – Neal – is he alright?" I coughed out trying to catch my breath around the agony that was my back.

Tyler rolled me to my side and stabilized my neck in a brace as he checked for exit holes in my vest, there were none and he looked at my arm that was bent under me – double score marks across my upper arm like I had said was causing the bleeding. I felt them put pressure on my arm and the EMS arrived and shoved the oxygen mask across my face after doing the basic checks.

"SATS are low and her vitals are unstable, we need to stabilize before transport to the hospital, keep her hips immobilized – there could be spinal damage due to the impacts!" the paramedic ordered.

Tyler gripped my hips between his hands and kept me focused on him as I breathed through the double agony of my back and the angle my arm was at underneath me; I felt a deep scratch and the EMT had started up an IV line to get some painkillers into me so I wouldn't be screaming in the back of the truck. Tanner had come over for an update from Tyler and once I was fitted onto the spinal board Tyler moved away to let the paramedics see the impacts in my vest – neither of them looked happy and they injected something else into my IV that immediately had me feeling dozy.

"Hey, why the hell are you knocking me out?" I whispered.

Tanner and Tyler were down beside me seconds later as the paramedic explained what was going on and why they were knocking me out, neither of them were happy with my STATS and the painkillers wouldn't be strong enough to stop the pain on the transport.

"She has pre-existing back injuries due to military service, I'll have her file sent over to the hospital – one of us will ride with her!" Tanner demanded.

The paramedic looked at him and nodded as he helped secure me into place on the braces and held up the IV started; the lead paramedic looked round and pointed to me.

"Look officer I am aware she is a vital member of your team but she just took a lot of rounds to her back, thankfully none have gone any further but her spine could still be in danger due to the angle she fell. We need her comfortable for transport and I will contact you as soon as I know any more information about her injuries!"

Burke had just got back from escorting Neal out of the area with Jones and came over to where they were moving me onto the stretcher for transport; I was stoned out of my face due to the medication and since I was still having breathing problems due to the impact, they had started oxygen for me which was slowly improving my STATS. He ran over to where I was getting loaded up and told everyone that he was riding with me and would contact the squad as soon as he knows anything; they loaded me up onto the ambulance and I flinched as they started another IV line to get fluids into me this time.

"Boss, is Neal alright – was he hurt?" I whispered.

Burke leaned over beside me and touched my shoulder, he shook his head and smiled; I tried to nod but was instantly stopped by the neck brace and spinal splints they had welded to me – that sucked as I had to scratch my nose!

"Neal's back at the office and he's safe, we have a lead on the shooter and he's helping working out the details – when I find out what's happening with you I will bring him over alright – you just need to relax and start to heal!" he replied.

"Getting shot sucks!" I whispered as the drugs pulled me under.

Burke looked at the paramedic and he fully agreed with me.

I remember little bits of what happened next, the agony of the trip due to speed bumps, the rush of the trauma team working around me as they stripped off my vest and clothes; the pokes and prods of the exam over my spine and chest. I remember screaming as they touched my back over my ribs, the fire that went up my spine was incredible and it triggered me back to combat – it took three doctors and Burke to calm me down as I fought them all off me – they eventually just knocked me out with a huge dose of drugs and Burke explained to the main doctor about the obvious scars I had on my back. He was eventually kicked out into the waiting area with my vest, the only thing left salvageable since they cut me out of everything else; he looked at the back of it and flinched as he saw the rounds embedded in the Kevlar.

"I hope whoever wore that vest is doing well Agent Burke, looks like 9mm and a lot of them!"

Burke looked up and spotted a former agent who he hadn't seen for a few years, he stood up and greeted the man and explained that it was one of his agents who worked with SWAT – he was just waiting on some news before a decision was made. They talked for a little while before the doctor came back out and motioned for Burke to come over; the men said farewell and he walked over after taking a deep breath.

"How is she doing doc?"

"She has two broken ribs and a lot of bruising, thankfully the Kevlar SWAT uses is double strength and saved her spine any permanent damage; she is currently on some pretty strong pain medication and thanks to you letting us know about previous trauma, we started her on the meds since she had that episode. I don't think it was a relapse, more like a memory recall back to when she was first injured – it happens a lot to people who have deep injuries." The doc informed him.

"How long are you going to be keeping her here for, her partner wanted to see her – is that possible?" he inquired.

"Yeah, we're moving her to a private room in the ESU to be monitored overnight, if her breathing improves due to the shock wearing off then she may be allowed out tomorrow afternoon as long as she has support at home. I'll ask the nurses to have a comfy chair put in the room so her visitors can rest up."

The doctor nodded at Burke's thanks and a while later he waited as they took me upstairs and then called the news in; Tanner was incoming with Neal in twenty and would bring evidence bags with them for the vest that contained about two pounds of fragmented lead.

It was a while later that Burke spotted them in the corridor and told the nurses to let them through, he caught them up to speed and let Neal go inside so he could speak to Tanner alone and find out any more information they had gathered in the office.

"Dead man was called Mark Lucas, a former client of Keller back in the eighties and he has a rap sheet the length of this corridor; seems he was sampling some new kind of drug and decided to go on a shooting spree at the behest of Keller – we have agents tracking the leads down now. How's our girl doing?" he replied to the question.

"Two broken ribs and a lot of bruising, vest did its job and it should be a month before going back to active duty – she was pretty awesome today!" Burke replied.

"She was, put some of our newest male recruits to shame in the training exercises – surprised the Commando's let her go!" he replied.

"I have a feeling they haven't let her go completely and may want her back once she is experienced on foreign soil again – better go in and see her before he goes mushy at her!"

Tanner looked at Neal leaning over me, I was still out cold and Neal was talking to me gently as he held my hand; he rolled his eyes at Burke and chuckled.


	13. Chapter 13

I woke up slowly and to the sound of a BP cuff being inflated around my arm, I snapped too and the nurse smiled at me and gently told me to relax, I was still numb from the waist down and she told me that the doctor would be in to see me shortly once the checks had been done. I nodded and she headed off to do the checks as I lay there getting my head around the events and double checking that Neal was fine and in safety; the door opened and in walked a familiar face from the trauma team, he looked delighted to see me awake and pulled up the chair beside me.

"Hey sunshine, good news is that there is no lasting damage, a couple of broken ribs and a lot of bruising but the vest did the job; you should be able to leave tomorrow afternoon at the earliest if physio allows you. How's the pain level?" he informed me.

"Twelve out of ten to be honest, could have been worse!" I whispered.

"I'll get some painkillers set up via the drip, I'll send your partner in again once you're settled alright but tonight you just relax and sleep!" he ordered.

"No worries doc, couldn't move to save myself at the moment!" I replied.

It must have been about twenty minutes later that I was dozing off again and I heard the door open gently, I opened my eyes and smiled goofily as I saw Neal walk in, he looked pale as a sheet and had obviously attacked the coffee machine. I managed to wake myself out of the drug induced stupor and looked over at him as he sat beside me and leaned in for a kiss.

"I am so glad to see you awake, you scared the shit out of me with that stunt!" he whispered.

"Well I didn't want you to show your super powers off by chewing on 9mm rounds, think some of the other guys would get complexes with that one!" I replied grinning.

He looked at me and grinned, my fingers trailed over his face and stubble and I gently poked him on the nose and yawned; the drugs were trying to pull me under again and I didn't want to sleep yet since he had just arrived and needed to know everything was alright.

"I'm sorry that I scared you but you had no protection on and I wasn't going to lose you, we need to get you a vest fitted if this asshole is after you – too close a call today," I whispered.

He took my hands and kissed me again as I quickly fell asleep again.

**Three weeks later**

I was lying on the pool side floor catching my breath again after being put through my physio workout and requalification exam for SWAT, it felt so good to get back to hard training and the trainer moved over to where I was and smiled down at me.

"Congratulations Corporal, you're cleared for duty – try not to get shot again!"

I stuck my thumb up at him and grinned before rolling back into the water and going to do some lengths to get the excess energy out of my system.

After a long hot shower and something to eat, I headed back to the office in my street wear and went to hand in my notice of requalification to Peter and the director; by the way the office was in chaos I knew something major was going on and I headed up to where Peter was leaning over his desk.

"Boss, what's going on?" I inquired as I saw his face.

He looked up surprised and I saw the fear in his expression, something bad had happened and it was personal; his eyes flicked to the desk again and I noticed he looked at the picture of El and him on holiday.

"Peter what is going on, what do you need?" I said closing the door.

"Keller escaped prison and kidnapped my wife this morning, we have no idea where she is and…..we found small pools of blood – we don't know if its hers or not?"

I stood there taking all the information he was giving me and I nodded as I clenched my fingers; I put the letter down on his table and went over to him and got him to sit down before he blew a gasket. I knelt beside him and glanced outside as I saw Neal look in; I shook my head for a moment and then looked back at Peter.

"Boss, I'm officially re-qualified and physically fit to re-join the unit, I'm going to get changed and then I'll be back to get a full briefing and do whatever we need to do to get El back safely alright? Hold any decisions back for five minutes, let me get into my gear and I'll be back to help with the search alright!" I whispered strongly.

He looked at me and nodded through teary eyes that just made me mad – seeing him torn up due to this sadistic son of a bitch. I gave him a quick arm squeeze and Jones took my place as I headed out of the office and down the steps with Neal hot on my ankles; he followed me into the changing room and watched me as I opened up my locker and started stripping out of my clothes.

"Why didn't anyone phone me this morning, I had finished my medical almost two hours ago and I would have been here immediately!" I hissed.

"Your team were out already searching known hideouts I gave them, Jones and Diana is looking up any evidence of where Keller could be heading and we have a secondary unit of SWAT on standby near the evidence locker where the treasure we collected is stored. You couldn't help us until you passed your fitness requalification and we all knew that so the decision was made to wait until you arrived." He replied.

I had started to pull on my thermals and thick boot socks as the door opened and the members of SWAT walked back in, they all nodded to me and headed to get changed into dry clothes due to the massive snow storm we were having. Neal just looked at me since I was half undressed and pulling on a black tank vest and polo shirt while men were stripping for a hot shower around me; I shrugged into my shirt and combats and started to tie my boots up tightly.

"Neal stop gawking at me, what's on your mind?" I whispered.

"You have never let anyone else see your scars before and the relief team…." He started.

"Neal I'll give you a little hint about working in close quarters with armed men – you get used to being exposed to their stares as in the military there are no boundaries in the field – I washed and showered beside men and woman who didn't bat an eyelash at seeing each other naked – the teams know my history with my injuries and they respect them – I don't see them as a hindrance anymore – they are my badges of survival and I am damn proud of every single one of them!" I whispered.

"And so are we – now get your mushy ass out of here Caffrey and let us shower in peace – unless you want to give us something to gawk at?" a voice called.

I burst out laughing as Tanner walked in with the rest of my team and Neal went pink, I finished tying up my shoes and planted a kiss on him that sent wolf whistles and cat calls in our direction; I looked at Neal and his eyes went wide as I pinned him against the lockers and climbed onto his lap as I kissed him. About twenty sets of eyes looked on at us and after a moment and a couple of coughs, I sat up and winked.

"Go make sure Burke is alright and I'll be out in five alright – mama needs to go get armed


	14. Chapter 14

I winked at my team and headed out the locker room and down the stairs to where the weapons locker was stored and picked out my firearms and ammo that I slid into my TAC vest; I hooked on my radio unit and checked the battery and picked up the spare in case we were out on an all-nighter. I slid my TAC knives into my holders and headed back up to the main office where the others were waiting on me with the team who had gotten cleaned up and dried off. Tyler and Rob gave me air kisses and pretended to swoon but became immediately serious the moment Burke walked in with Neal and the director.

"Alright guys listen up please!" The director called.

Both SWAT teams were at the end of the table and each of us were ready for the weather outside and whatever we needed to do, Tanner was standing near the top of the table overlooking the recent blockades put up by the uniforms and where the other teams were deployed throughout Manhattan. I glanced at the diagrams on the wall monitor and made quick mental notes of main locations and marked them down on my notepad for reference; Peter was getting information over his phone and Neal was close by.

"El was taken this morning between 0700 and 0800hrs, nearly six hours after Keller escaped from SM in Berkley, we have no demands as yet but have wires on all communication coming in to this building and on Agent Burke's phones – we need to catch this SOB before anything happens. We have team four on the treasure storage unit and have regular contact through Jones; Diana is taking care of the house evidence and will follow up leads as they come in. Team one and three you are our strike force since we are now back up to full strength with Cameron back in black! Team two – position yourselves across marked locations and check in every twenty minutes through coded channels." Tanner ordered.

"Sir, how did Keller escape?" I asked knowing someone was dead.

"Prisoner escort to the ER this morning after being shanked in a fight, the blood found at the scene in the house is being tested for a DNA match so we can at least hopefully get some news on which the injured parties are," he replied.

"It also gives us an edge Sir, a big one if his injury is serious enough to be transported to the ER!" I replied quickly.

"How do you mean?" Peter asked staring at me.

The whole room went silent as I began to look through the reports on the table, I found the one I wanted and Jones put the scanned copy up on the board for me so everyone could see it; I walked forward and pointed at the EMS trauma sheet.

"The EMT has marked him to have a deep penetrating wound to the lower right hand side of his abdomen with moderate blood loss and possible organ damage, that type of wound normally requires exploratory surgery and at least three pints of blood to recover. By the look of the photo they took his appendix has been hit and that will require removal within the next twelve hours – he's going to need specialist care for at least that amount of time before he can get on his feet." I said pointing things out from a medical view.

"He's smart enough to not go to the hospitals, free clinics or anywhere we would know about, unless there is somewhere you can think he would go?" Burke asked.

"There is a clinic that illegal immigrants use near the docks and they get supplies in by raiding the medical storage at the hospitals and by scattering goods from across chemists in the city – we need to do a search on missing equipment reports, large volumes of first aid equipment being bought or stolen within the last few hours – pin point the locations and then we have a closer target range!" I replied.

"I've heard about this clinic, it changes locations on a daily basis; so you think if we locate the missing supplies then we have a rougher area to look in?" Diana asked.

"Yeah but it's going to be fun for us since this clinic is run by the Triad enforcers and the Golden Dragons – from what I know about them they don't mess about and if they get raided, they shoot everyone and then scatter to the winds!" I replied.

"Jones…" Burke started.

"Already on it boss!" he replied typing up on his laptop.

As everyone was discussing the recent information I had shared on the clinic I went to check my phone that had beeped a couple of times during the conversation, it was a missed call and I was about to switch my phone off again when it began to ring.

"Cameron."

"Well, well, well, so we indeed have a visitor to the city!" a voice said sharply.

"Who is this?" I asked immediately.

"Where are my manners since we haven't been formally introduced – I'm Matthew Keller and I believe you are aware of why I maybe calling you and not Peter Burke?"

"What have you done to Elizabeth, where is she?" I demanded.

I had turned back towards the room and the voice on the phone ordered me to stop or shit would hit the fan, I looked up through the window and I caught the laser pointer on the edge of the glass.

"What do you want Keller?" I hissed.

"Access onto the National Guard base, something I know you can provide for me – do it and I won't be inclined to harm Mrs Burke here!"

"You want access into the NG base, why?" I whispered as someone walked past.

I was getting looks from Neal, I shook my head and stopped him with a motion of my hand in the air; he didn't look happy. I turned around and moved further down the corridor so I didn't see him tap on Jones shoulder and motion to me on the phone.

"Neal, I can't just tap into her phone records without cause – she would murder me!" he hissed.

"And I think she may be on the phone to Keller!" he replied.

Jones looked at him and then started up the trace programme on the laptop and waited.


	15. Chapter 15

**Along the corridor**

I was pacing the small corridor as Keller gloated on something he was needing from the base, he wouldn't tell me exactly what it was but he told me I would recognise it immediately; there was nothing majorly exciting on the base due to its location in the city – only access was to the armoury and that was restricted to retina scans and four ID checks.

"So apart from the obvious, where do I come into this?" I hissed.

I could hear him chuckle and get more comfortable wherever he was.

"Seems we have something in common, something that is just a coincidence or fate; either way I need access onto the base to complete this little 'mission'."

My brain was wracking itself for the information – nothing was springing to my mind.

"This would go faster if you just told me what you were looking for, at this rate your head won't fit through the main gates!" I hissed.

I heard laughter coming from the other end of the phone and the faint sound of traffic, he was definitely on the move and it sounded like he was just passing the subway entrance near Main Drive – the sound of the church chimes was unmistakable.

"I tell you what, come and meet us in five minutes outside the service elevator and if you help me with my access problem, then I will let Mrs Burke go – does that sound promising?"

I leaned against the wall and review my options, El was an innocent bystander in this whole mess and the priority was her safety; if swapped places with her then I could find out what the hell he was up to and stop him while on base. I look at Neal who is still looking at me through the glass and I know instantly that he is having Jones trace the call.

"You have a deal Keller, three minutes outside the main elevator and you let her go and I'll take her place – agreed?" I asked.

I heard the faint whimper of another individual beside him – El?

"Done – don't be stupid and come armed, leave everything but your ID in your desk and if I find out that you have alerted anyone then its history time for you both!"

I switch the phone off and slip around the corner to the stairwell, I need to get to the armoury and put my weapon back and slid a couple of knives into my belt before I head to the alley; two minutes and counting and I have made my way to the basement and completed what I needed to do – I slide on my fleece and vest again and head out the delivery entrance and spot the black van parked at the end of the alley. The door slides open and I raise my hands to show I am unarmed, I spot El who is released and is making her way towards me; I nod to her to move faster and I grab her hands and give her a visual check.

"Are you alright?" I demand.

"I'm fine they didn't hurt me but Keller really wants you – it's something to do with a contact in Afghanistan – someone you both know?" she whispered.

I finished my check of her and glanced around me and shoved something into her hand.

"Oh terrific; Okay, get into the service entrance and here is the code for the lift – tell Peter everything!" I order her.

She tries and pulls me back and I stop her, showing her the laser pointer that is aimed at her head, Keller knows what he is doing and is making sure I comply with his demands; I shove her in the direction of the entrance and I make my way up to the black van where a man is waiting for me a few meters away.

"Mathew Keller I presume?" I hiss.

He smiles and looks me up and down.

"Freya Cameron – I can see the attraction Neal has for you – rather natural beauty and fiery spirit when it comes to saving lives – you passed my test in the gardens a few weeks ago – well done for trying your best!"

My spine stiffened.

"That was you – you shot an innocent man just to test my skills?" I demanded.

"Effective wasn't it, alerted the agency to your potential and I see you have reaped the rewards for your hard work; but we have unfinished business to attend to now and I am freezing cold so do you mind?" he replied pointing to the van.

I check to make sure Elizabeth is out of the way and one of Keller's team comes over and grabs my wrists as he displays a set of handcuffs, he wrenches my arms behind my back and I glare at Keller as he grins at me. I struggle with the man holding me back and I hiss as he pulls me back into his chest and sniffs my neck; I drag my boots down his legs and he hisses in pain as I send my head back and hear the satisfying crunch of his nose breaking.

"Touch me again and I will kill you!" I hiss as he grabs my handcuffed wrists and yanks them back.

Moments later there is a huge commotion coming out of the building and I spot the whole of the WC division and SWAT do a pincer manoeuvre on our AO, Keller looks at me and I grin before being back handed with the firearm across the face by one of his goons; I spit out the blood and flinch as my throat is grabbed and I am used as a human shield as my team, Peter and Neal come running up the alley towards out location. Each of them take aim and I shake my head at them as they get into position.

"Keller, let her go!"

"Sorry no can do Burke, she is needed for a little job I have been asked to help with and she agreed to swap places with your wife – such selfless sacrifice for someone so young! Oh hey Neal, how you doing buddy? – Just going to borrow your bed buddy for a couple of hours!"

"Let her go Keller, she has nothing to do with our history – take me if you need help!" Neal calls moving forward.

Tanner and Tyler pull him back and I notice that he has a vest on under his jacket; he must still be under threat for them to take extreme measures.

"Sorry Neal but it's not your expertise I need this time. Your girlfriend has some unique training I require help with so we are going to be taking a little trip once we go shopping – if she is good and behaves herself then she will be returned unharmed – it would be a shame to see her bloody and broken somewhere!" he replies.

"You're a dead man Keller!" I hiss as the man holding me tightens his grip.

He nods to the man and I am unceremoniously thrown into the back of the van with a loud crack as my shoulder takes the weight of the fall against the metal boxes stacked up; everyone moves forward as Keller steps back and slides into the seat beside me.

"I'll keep in touch Burke, say hello to your wife for me!"

I am punched in the side of the head with an order from Keller and the last thing I see is the door slamming shut and a hail of bullets hitting the side of the van.


	16. Chapter 16

**A few moments earlier**

Elizabeth ran into the building and into the lift, punching in the code for the WC floor – she catches her breath as the lift makes its way up to the level and she pushes open the door and runs into the open office; she looks around and shouts on Peter who turns around and looks dumbstruck to see her standing there.

"El, how the hell did you get away from him?" he whispers hugging her.

"I didn't, she took my place and let me get up here with the code – he has her!" she replied.

"Who does he have Mrs Burke?" Tyler demands.

Peter looks around and can't see who he is looking for – he groans and looks at Neal.

"Back service entrance, Freya is taking my place – she needs help!" she replies.

Every single agent on that floor makes their way out of the lift and down the stair well towards the fire doors on the basement level, the fan out and let SWAT take lead as they head outside and witness me being handcuffed by Keller and his bodyguard. Neal is restrained and they watch as I am shoved into the back of the van and it's driven away at speed.

**Present time**

Peter looks at Neal and see's the pain he is experiencing, everyone else is feeling it too and the SWAT team are talking together in a group with a lot of angry words getting shouted between them all. Peter makes his way over to them and gets them upstairs and back into the office to formulate a plan with any information he now has to get out of El. By the time they make it back to the office, Elizabeth is pacing his office and is trying to keep her cool, Neal pushes Peter towards her and watches as he holds her close and she cries.

"Neal, she'll be alright with Keller – if he needs her then she is more valuable alive than injured!" Tyler says grabbing his shoulder in support.

"She shouldn't have done it – why couldn't she have told us she was on the phone to Keller? I had a feeling and Jones traced the call but it was a burner, what the hell does he want with her – why would he take Elizabeth – what does he need?" he replied angrily.

Peter and Elizabeth come out of the office and into the main conference room where everyone has assembled, she is put into the chair and the room is cleared by everyone apart from SWAT, Peter, Neal and the director.

"Okay Hun, tell me exactly what Keller and Frey were talking about?" Peter inquired.

"There is something being held on the National Guard base that Keller wants something to do with troops coming back from tour in Afghanistan – they use the local base as a staging area due to the size and location for the local personnel. He kidnapped me to trigger the alert with the FBI, he knew that SWAT would be involved and also that Freya's medical was forwarded to this morning and she would volunteer to help the minute she heard I was taken by them!" she started to explain.

Tyler and Tanner both looked at each other and then Tyler went to make a call outside the room; Burke looked at him and frowned.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"Freya's medical wasn't due for another two weeks, we tried to delay it since she was still having some breathing problems due to the bruising on her lungs, nothing that is immediately serious but can cause complications. The examiner came to me a couple of days ago and declared her fit enough to stand the exams and physical for duty this morning – I tried to stop them but due to the winter virus we were men short and needed everyone available for shift." He explained.

"She came directly to me from her medical exam, I have the letter from the board on my desk – are you implying that Keller lured her in here today?" Burke replied.

Tyler came back into the office at the same time Neal did with the letter from Peter's desk, his face was grim and Tanner hissed in frustration. Neal handed Peter the letter and after a couple of moments he swore loudly and handed the letter to Tanner who clenched his jaw and swore – everyone flinched.

"I can confirm that theory Agent Burke – I just made the call to the EVB, they do our medicals and evaluations for duty – they never authorised the medical and actually strongly recommended that she be kept to light office duties for the next month," Tyler reported.

"Is she not fit enough for the field?" Neal asked concerned.

"Her latest medical tests and x-rays have just returned – she has the start of Pneumonia in the right lung and a bacterial infection in her shoulder – she was due to be called back into hospital for emergency admission." He replied passing the notes over from the new fax.

"So Keller now has her at gunpoint and she is going to become violently ill with pneumonia and an infection – we need to find her!" Neal whispers sitting down.

"I've already contacted the local base and they are aware of what is going on, problem is that the base is having an open day for recruits – yes even in this weather they are recruiting!" Jones replies pointing to the lashing snow storm.

"What did the Commander of Base say?"

"He is on lookout for her, he has also contacted the regular unit she works with in case she makes contact with them – he won't confirm or deny any of my questions regarding what is on the base though!"

Elizabeth looks at Neal for a moment and then clicks her fingers; everyone looks at her and points at Neal.

"The dance we attended on base, the Admiral she was playing bodyguard to with her CO – maybe he can help?" she inquired.

"Neal – can you remember what his name is and where he is stationed?" Peter asked.

He was about to reply when a voice boomed from outside the open office demanding to know where Neal Caffrey was; everyone ran out of the room to find an Admiral and his aide looking seriously pissed off.

"Admiral Mitchell, what are you doing here?" Peter says shocked.

The admiral and his aide make their way up the small set of stairs and moves in front of the group gathered, he is seriously pissed and holds up a fax sent to him by the USN.

"I got this five minutes ago and have just broken the speed record for getting from the airport to here and a good few traffic laws to boot – where the hell is my god-daughter?" he roars.

"Freya is your god-daughter?" everyone says shocked.

"Yes – now who is going to explain to me what the hell is going on?" he demands.


	17. Chapter 17

Peter gets him into the office and closes the door, Elizabeth takes Neal to the conference room and sits him down; he is shaking and freaking out – too many close calls and he has no idea what Keller wants with me and why he took Elizabeth?

"I am so sorry this happened to you El – never in my dreams would I guess he would take you! I am so sorry!" he whispers.

"I'm alright Neal, a little scared but I am fine thanks to the bravery of Freya and the sacrifice she made to help me! She got me out of harm's way, she took my place and we now know she is really sick – I want her back as bad as you do – she's my friend and I want Keller to pay!" she whispers taking his hand.

"Keller is insane and if he doesn't get what he wants he is perfectly capable of killing her or at least causing her serious harm – I can't lose her Elizabeth – not after everything we have both been through!" he whispers, tears falling down his face.

**In the truck**

I struggle to keep my weight off my right side since my shoulder is most definitely dislocated after slamming into the metal crates in the van; stupid asshole has also given me a slight concussion as well with the back hander with his weapon. I lean against the crates and breathe deeply as much as possible through the pain, I cough and roll my eyes as I feel a slight chill run down the back of my neck – typical – kidnapped and develop a cold in the same morning! Keller notices that I am awake and turns around in his seat to face me, he nods to the man beside me and I am grabbed by the arms and lifted onto his knee, I bite back a scream as my shoulder is torn further from the joint and I see grey around the edges of my vision.

"Easy big guy, she's no use to us if she is injured to badly, pop her fleece open – let's see the damage?" he inquires gloating.

The big guy opens my vest up and strips my fleece down over my deformed shoulder, he whistles as he sees the angle of my shoulder and flinches as he feels the heat coming from the joint. I glare up at him and smirk as I see the damage I inflicted on his face, his nose is a good bit out of joint too!

"Seems my friend here has given you a dislocated shoulder, I'm not cruel to leave that to set in place so when we get to the base my medic will put it back into location for you and give you some painkillers for the task I am going to give you." He says pointing to the shoulder.

"Thank you for that!" I reply, relying on my negotiator training.

"You're welcome Corporal, I'm glad to see that you are willing to co-operate with us; it's the easiest way to ensure everyone goes home at the end of the day with a smile on their faces and no further injuries. Speaking of injuries how is your vision?"

"Blurry at times, slight concussion possible hairline fracture on temple bone – nothing I can't handle for a couple of hours!" I reply.

He takes a quick call and I feel the van pull up at the side of the road, the side of the van opens and I am pulled out quickly by men dressed up in combats and shoved into a Humvee with military markings; I look at Keller who comes out the van a few seconds later dressed up in dress blues and I glance over him – his disguise is near perfect apart from the toothpick hanging out his mouth.

"So your pretending to be an officer, is that your best plan?"

"Do you have a better one?" he hisses back.

"A few, none you would like!" I replied.

He looked at me and laughed, I rolled my eyes at him and supported my arm as much as possible as he climbed into the Humvee and we made our way along the road with the black van following us a couple of cars back; I had no idea what they were after since I knew the base was empty and didn't hold anything lethal due to the crowded area. The Humvee stopped a couple of blocks away from the base and I was pulled out the back and shoved into the front with Keller and the driver, I looked at them and winced as the big guy at the back laid his fingers along my shoulder joint and cried out as he squeezed.

"That is just a reminder to what you may start to feel if you give the game away Corporal, I need this to go smoothly and then as I have promised, I will get you medical treatment from my medic before the plan continues. Now, I know you are smart Freya and won't try anything foolish – we wouldn't want anything to happen to your new found family back in the office now would we?" Keller says gently.

I hiss through the pain and nod, gasping as the big guy releases my shoulder and I fight back the vomit that is lying in the back of my throat from the pain; Keller nods to me and I pull out my ID for the checks at the main gate. The driver pulls up at the sentry point and we all pass the IDs over to the guard, mine goes through without an issue and I keep my surprise well hidden when everyone else's goes through too without any issues.

"Captain Mitchell, your team are waiting for you outside the warehouse with supplies ready, is there anything else I can do for you?" the sentry inquires.

"No thank you!" Keller replies returning the salute and letting the driver head through the gates at the marked speed.

I look at Keller and clench my teeth as we go over the huge speed bumps and my vision swims, Keller grips me and keeps me sitting straight as we pass the main Aux block and the small tour set up which will follow the cleared snow path. I am pulled back into my seat by the guy behind me and he digs his finger into the joint and I wake up immediately with a hand over my mouth and a scream in the back of my throat.

"Keep quiet or I will be forced to make you quiet!" Keller hisses.

I glare at him and when the Humvee finally stops and I am dragged out the seat by the big goon I automatically find a hedge and violently throw up, the pain in my shoulder is beyond anything and I can't pop it back in without some help from a trained medic. I am grabbed from behind again and shoved at the armoury door where I put in my access code and retina scan – everything goes through and the door opens. Keller nods at his goons and we all enter the building and make our way to the low level office where I see two men waiting with a dozen or so large containers that are being loaded onto the back of a transport – what the hell is in those things? I manage to get closer and I freeze as I read the side markings of the boxes – what the holy fuck were they doing in this base?

"Well Corporal, seems you have lived up to your end of the bargain – two of my colleagues were locked in this warehouse under protection detail for these beauties beside us – you just helped them escape the army and made me a lot of money. But, as promised, they will now treat your shoulder!"

Both men come over and lead me to the empty table and help strip off the TAC vest and fleece as they check the joint out, they nod to me and begin the countdown and pop the socket back into place – the pain is instantly less but my arm is now useless for the time being until the swelling goes down. They show me the painkiller vial and I nod as they inject my shoulder with the drug and I feel it taking effect within moments; I am helped back into my fleece and vest and once they have secured my arm in the chest sling and bound it over my vest, they slam a second vial into my arm and I fight them off me before the big guy grabs me and slams me against the wall.

"What the hell was in the second injection?" I demanded.

I was being held about a foot off the ground by the front of my vest and Keller walked over towards us with a smile on his face, I glared down at him and shook my head at the fuzzy feeling that I was getting over my body.

"That second injection was a powerful sedative, one that should be taking affect as we speak. I am finding that I may have need of your talents for a further delivery I need to make and with your 'specialist training'; you are the best person to accompany me to the drop point. Now, I need to organise transport out of here for us both before your friends come in with the Calvary – so to speak!" he added.

"I'm not going anywhere with you – there is nowhere in this city that you can hide from my team – you're a dead man Keller!" I hiss back.

He walks over to me and leans into my face as he brushes the small trace of blood off my cheek; he leans in and kisses my face as he whispers to me.

"When you wake up, we will most defiantly NOT be in the city anymore!"

He shouts a couple of commands and I am thrown into the back of the truck and secured by handcuffs to my ankles against the strapping on the floor at the back of the van – there is no way in hell I can get out and I am surrounded by eight men all armed to the teeth – all glaring at me like I am lunch. I close my eyes and send out prayers that the APB I sent to Admiral Mitchell will have reached him in time for help to arrive.

A few minutes later the truck starts and I lean against the wooden panel that separates us from the weather outside, I am exhausted and still in pain – no matter what I do I can't keep my eyes open and after a look at the boxes I allow blackness to consume me.


End file.
